Combining agriculture with green energy production could improve food security and boost farm incomes, according to a new study.
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Installing solar panels and growing crops on the same land could be a solution to increase renewable electricity in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, enough to meet 68 percent of the countries' current energy needs, according to a new study.
A study by energy think tank Ember estimates that the region's agricultural and food processing power needs could be met through a technique known as “agri-PV”, combining electricity with crop production on just 9 percent of agricultural land.
The UK-based NGO suggests that 180GW of solar panels could be installed on crops in the Central European country – three times the target capacity for 2030 set out in the draft National Energy Plan and seven times the total capacity currently installed in the countries.
The so-called Visegrad Four countries account for 19 percent of the EU's arable land and produce disproportionately large amounts of staple crops such as wheat, oats and rye, but Ember said volatile fertilizer prices, frequent droughts and extreme weather could put their production at risk.
Food Security
The analysis found that installing solar panels could not only provide farmers with an additional source of income, but also improve moisture retention in dry years, protecting crops from extreme weather and actually increasing yields in some cases.
The report concludes that for shade-loving berries and fruits, overhead agricultural solar can increase yields by up to 16 percent while producing 63 percent of the electricity of traditional solar systems.
“Food and energy security are absolutely critical as Europe comes under increasing threat in these volatile times,” said Dr. Pawel Czijak, one of the report's authors and data analyst. “Installing solar panels on farms allows farmers to contribute to both food and energy security while keeping their operations stable and profitable.”
Cizak noted that a “legislation and support framework” is essential to unlock the potential of agricultural solar, which faces the same challenges as traditional solar systems in accessing the power grid, but of the four countries surveyed, only the Czech Republic has targeted regulations in this area.
In France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, regulations allow land to be shared for farming and electricity production without losing agricultural subsidies, which has already led to the development of more than 200 agricultural solar projects across Europe.
In Poland, a case study considering agricultural solar power and wheat concluded that revenues per hectare could be 12 times higher than from the wheat crop alone, Enver said, and annual profits from combined electricity and wheat sales could reach €1,268 per hectare. This is in stark contrast to conventional wheat production, which is estimated to generate a net loss in 2024.
But it may take some persuasion to convince farmers. Marion Picot, secretary general of the Brussels-based European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA), told Euronews that farmers' main concern about adopting solar energy is that fertile land could be used to install solar panels instead of growing crops.
“Solar power can provide an additional source of income, provided it does not undermine the economic, social and environmental value of agricultural land. Priority should be given to its installation on building roofs or its efficient combination with crop or livestock production,” Picotte said.
