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Growing crops under solar panels

fastcompany.com

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Re: Growing crops under solar panels

#11

Post by yazaddaruvala »

debacle wrote: post #6

This idea is being pushed hard right now. I see it everywhere. You can't grow most crops under solar panels. And the crops you can grow will probably have a lower yield. This is an idea that's meant to push replacing farmland with solar arrays. I don't necessarily think that's a bad idea for low yield soils, but in my area they are trying to replace high-yield soils (former orchards, vineyards, market gardens) with s…

I just added this comment below: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35101717

A lot of farming NEEDs sun protection for better yields. Currently farms that don’t have sun protection over compensate by over watering (also could reduce yields).

Not to say every farm should have solar panels but it’s very likely a double digit percentage of farm land would benefit from agrovoltaics.

Re: Growing crops under solar panels

#12

Post by eloff »

debacle wrote: post #6

This idea is being pushed hard right now. I see it everywhere. You can't grow most crops under solar panels. And the crops you can grow will probably have a lower yield. This is an idea that's meant to push replacing farmland with solar arrays. I don't necessarily think that's a bad idea for low yield soils, but in my area they are trying to replace high-yield soils (former orchards, vineyards, market gardens) with s…

Exactly. This idea is so dumb, it reminds me of solar powered roads or solar power on the roof of your car.

There’s no shortage of land out there that can’t be used for agriculture. The American southwest is full of empty land that just happens to be very sunny. There’s no need to comprise the productivity of farms and solar farms alike to try and squeeze them into the same space. Wind turbines on the other hand can work beats they don’t get in the way as much, especially on grazing land.

Re: Growing crops under solar panels

#13

Post by fencepost »

debacle wrote: post #6

This idea is being pushed hard right now. I see it everywhere. You can't grow most crops under solar panels. And the crops you can grow will probably have a lower yield. This is an idea that's meant to push replacing farmland with solar arrays. I don't necessarily think that's a bad idea for low yield soils, but in my area they are trying to replace high-yield soils (former orchards, vineyards, market gardens) with s…

There are plenty of crops that grow well in or even prefer partially shaded conditions, particularly if there's a significant amount of reflected light as well as there likely would be around a solar array.

Re: Growing crops under solar panels

#14

Post by nicoburns »

eloff wrote: post #12
debacle wrote: post #6

This idea is being pushed hard right now. I see it everywhere. You can't grow most crops under solar panels. And the crops you can grow will probably have a lower yield. This is an idea that's meant to push replacing farmland with solar arrays. I don't necessarily think that's a bad idea for low yield soils, but in my area they are trying to replace high-yield soils (former orchards, vineyards, market gardens) with s…

Exactly. This idea is so dumb, it reminds me of solar powered roads or solar power on the roof of your car. There’s no shortage of land out there that can’t be used for agriculture. The American southwest is full of empty land that just happens to be very sunny. There’s no need to comprise the productivity of farms and solar farms alike to try and squeeze them into the same space. Wind turbines on the other hand can…

> There’s no shortage of land out there that can’t be used for agriculture. The American southwest...

Maybe not in the US, but in more populated parts of the world there very much is a shortage of land of any kind.

Re: Growing crops under solar panels

#15

Post by cwkoss »

yazaddaruvala wrote: post #11
debacle wrote: post #6

This idea is being pushed hard right now. I see it everywhere. You can't grow most crops under solar panels. And the crops you can grow will probably have a lower yield. This is an idea that's meant to push replacing farmland with solar arrays. I don't necessarily think that's a bad idea for low yield soils, but in my area they are trying to replace high-yield soils (former orchards, vineyards, market gardens) with s…

I just added this comment below: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35101717 A lot of farming NEEDs sun protection for better yields. Currently farms that don’t have sun protection over compensate by over watering (also could reduce yields). Not to say every farm should have solar panels but it’s very likely a double digit percentage of farm land would benefit from agrovoltaics.

I'd imagine a significant majority of mass-produced lettuce is grown with some sort of shading to prevent bolting.

Re: Growing crops under solar panels

#16

Post by fencepost »

jandrese wrote: post #10
debacle wrote: post #6

This idea is being pushed hard right now. I see it everywhere. You can't grow most crops under solar panels. And the crops you can grow will probably have a lower yield. This is an idea that's meant to push replacing farmland with solar arrays. I don't necessarily think that's a bad idea for low yield soils, but in my area they are trying to replace high-yield soils (former orchards, vineyards, market gardens) with s…

I think the idea is to use this on the handful of crops that prefer the shade. Think small artisanal alfalfa farms with minimal mechanization. But all in all I agree that it adds considerable complication for little gain. At least in the US we are in zero danger of installing so many solar panels that there is not enough acres left for food. That kind of concern is orders of magnitude away from reality. Especially if…

Not just alfalfa, but crops where what's eaten is the stems, leaves and other parts of the plant more than the fruits/seeds. Leafy greens, some root vegetables both starchy and wet, asparagus, some brassicas, etc. Not nearly as broad a list as full sun, but I'm also sure there are a lot of things being grown in southern California now that needed a lot of breeding to deal with as much sun as they get there.

Re: Growing crops under solar panels

#17

Post by crooked-v »

I really don't get why people keep coming up with all these elaborate plans to mix solar panels with other stuff that's in active use, instead of just putting fields of them out in non-endangered desert elevated enough off the ground that they won't actively interfere with local animals.

Re: Growing crops under solar panels

#18

Post by martyvis »

Jiro wrote: post #9

Outside of weird edge cases (like mushrooms), how does this work when the plants use the sunlight and so do the solar panels?

There are plenty of places in the garden around my home that either are always shaded or are only in full sun for a few hours a day. Yet there isn't one spot (except under my house) where nothing grows. Suitable spacing, height and angle of panels (which could adjust during the day) and choice of crop all would come into the mix of what would work.

Re: Growing crops under solar panels

#19

Post by martyvis »

eloff wrote: post #12
debacle wrote: post #6

This idea is being pushed hard right now. I see it everywhere. You can't grow most crops under solar panels. And the crops you can grow will probably have a lower yield. This is an idea that's meant to push replacing farmland with solar arrays. I don't necessarily think that's a bad idea for low yield soils, but in my area they are trying to replace high-yield soils (former orchards, vineyards, market gardens) with s…

Exactly. This idea is so dumb, it reminds me of solar powered roads or solar power on the roof of your car. There’s no shortage of land out there that can’t be used for agriculture. The American southwest is full of empty land that just happens to be very sunny. There’s no need to comprise the productivity of farms and solar farms alike to try and squeeze them into the same space. Wind turbines on the other hand can…

The article says that having crops under panels might help them through cooling. Options are worth investigating if it makes the whole system more viable.

Re: Growing crops under solar panels

#20

Post by pornel »

crooked-v wrote: post #17

I really don't get why people keep coming up with all these elaborate plans to mix solar panels with other stuff that's in active use, instead of just putting fields of them out in non-endangered desert elevated enough off the ground that they won't actively interfere with local animals.

Long-distance energy transmission may be technically or politically harder, or just someone else's problem.

If you're a farmer and already own the land, that's what you can do. A combination of the two land uses might be more profitable or less financially volatile than either one alone.

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