The Photo voltaic and Storage Industries Institute (SI2) has introduced the launch of the Photo voltaic + Farms Survey. This analysis initiative explores boundaries to agrivoltaics, or photo voltaic tasks that serve a twin objective by incorporating meals crops or forage for livestock beneath and across the photo voltaic panels.
Funded by the U.S. Division of Vitality Photo voltaic Vitality Applied sciences Workplace’s Foundational Agrivoltaic Analysis for Megawatt Scale (FARMS) programme, and in collaboration with Nationwide Farmers Union (NFU), the Nationwide Rural Electrical Cooperative Affiliation (NRECA), and the Photo voltaic Vitality Industries Affiliation (SEIA), the Photo voltaic + Farms Survey will assist stakeholders higher perceive the challenges dealing with farmers, photo voltaic builders, and electrical utilities as they take into account twin use photo voltaic on farmland. Whereas there are over 150 agrivoltaic photo voltaic websites in operation throughout the nation in accordance with the Nationwide Renewable Vitality Laboratory (NREL), many boundaries to additional improvement persist. The sources developed as a part of this venture will present farmers, builders, utilities, and coverage makers with the sources essential to assess agrivoltaic options. The agricultural trade’s enter is essential to main the clear vitality transition.
“Agrivoltaics is increasing throughout the nation and has proven to be helpful to each farmers and the deployment of unpolluted vitality,” mentioned David Gahl, Government Director of the SI2. “The Photo voltaic + Farms Survey will allow farmers to share their experiences with agrivoltaics and be taught extra concerning the subject if they aren’t conversant in it.”
“At SI2, we’re frequently researching mechanisms to hurry up the clear vitality transition, and understanding farmers’ views on clear vitality is a major a part of our analysis,” added Gahl. “I’m excited to be taught from the survey outcomes and discover how the photo voltaic and agriculture neighborhood can additional collaborate to develop clear vitality deployment throughout the nation.”
“Photo voltaic siting is among the most troublesome components of deploying clear vitality, and higher collaboration with farmers will assist us bridge the information hole,” commented Shawn Rumery, Senior Director of Analysis at SEIA. “With a clearer understanding of the boundaries dealing with stakeholders, we will start to develop options to assist additional the deployment of agrivoltiac methods and deal with a number of the photo voltaic siting challenges that persist right this moment.”
The deadline to finish this survey is 9 April 2024.
For extra information and technical articles from the worldwide renewable trade, learn the most recent situation of Vitality World journal.
Vitality World’s Winter 2023 situation
The Winter 2023 situation of Vitality World hosts an array of technical articles climate evaluation, geothermal options, vitality storage know-how, and extra. This situation additionally includes a regional report taking a look at the way forward for renewables in North America, and a report from Théodore Reed-Martin, Editorial Assistant, Vitality World, on how Iceland utilises its distinctive geology for renewable vitality.
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