Can vegetables grow under solar panels?

There are a number of vegetables that can grow perfectly fine under the shade of solar panels. Mushrooms and many root crops are a great option to grow in this otherwise unused land. Many below ground vegetables don’t sprout tall enough to interfere with solar panels.

How do agrivoltaic farms work?

In an agrivoltaic farm, solar panels are installed on poles or frames that are fixed into the ground, as they are in most solar farms. Farmers then plant crops under or around the solar panels. Often, the solar panels are installed a few metres off the ground, or as part of a canopy, with rotating poles or frames.

Can solar panels shade large crop lands?

And while the grass under your trampoline grows by itself, researchers like me in the field of solar photovoltaic technology — made up of solar cells that convert sunlight directly into electricity — have been working on shading large crop lands with solar panels — on purpose.

What crops work best for agrivoltaic farming?

As a general rule the crops that work best for agrivoltaic farming are shade-resistant ones (meaning they grow well in the shade), such as leafy greens, root vegetables, berries, tomatoes, and peppers. However, what crops will work best in a specific agrivoltaic farm very much depends on the climate they’re planted in.

What is the ideal solar array for a crop?

Khanna will be studying what the ideal solar array might be for a particular crop, for instance, if it needs bigger or smaller gaps between panels to let sunlight pass through. Height, too, is an issue: Corn and wheat would need taller panels, while shrubby soybeans would be fine with a more squat variety.

What is a solar farm & how does it work?

In solar farms the land is only used to accommodate solar panels, and nothing else. That means no crops are grown under or around the solar panels, as is the case in an agrivoltaic farm. There are, however, some solar farms where the land is also used for ‘solar grazing’.