Instead of confronting agriculture with solar panels, agrovoltaics proposes applying both activities on the same piece of land to take advantage of synergies. The panels provide shade for plants and trees and limit water evaporation, thus reducing the water needs of the land. In turn, evaporation from the cultures is transmitted to the plates and helps keep them cool. In addition, the panels can also be a protection against hail, downpours or frost.
Not all are advantages. If the panels are not translucent, the shade can affect the productivity of certain crops due to lack of light. On the other hand, agrovoltaics increases the costs of solar parks due to the taller and more separated structures that must allow the passage of machinery.
There are several experiences in different countries, to which is now added one in Viladecans as part of the European Symbiosyst research project. "The objective is to determine what synergies are generated," says Marcel Macarulla, a researcher and professor at the UPC, one of the universities participating in the project. In Viladecans, vegetables will be grown under solar panels, while in Italy two pilot projects are being carried out with fruit trees and in the Netherlands, the panels are the roof of a greenhouse.
