Agrovoltaic technology: The trend that will revolutionize the agricultural sector

PRESS RELEASE from Andes Solar
August 2023

(Machine translation of the original release, issued in Spanish)

Agrovoltaic or agrophotovoltaic energy is a concept developed by Germany in 1981 that links two strategic sectors in a virtuous relationship of sustainability: renewable energy and agriculture. This technology implements an efficient model in which the same piece of land fulfills a double function, allowing the development of agricultural and livestock activities together with the generation of clean energy through photovoltaic panels.

In 2021, the scientific journal Nature Food published an article called "Food systems are responsible for a third of global anthropogenic GHG emissions", where it reveals that one third of global greenhouse gas emissions come from agri-food systems, mainly due to to the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and animal waste, which implies a challenge for this sector to implement accelerated mitigation and adaptation actions in the context of the climate crisis that the planet is experiencing.

In turn, agriculture is also a victim of the consequences that global warming has generated, such as soil desertification, directly impacting its development. In this sense, solutions such as agrovoltaic technology become a relevant alternative to generate actions for change, optimizing the use of the land and increasing the percentage of moisture in the soil thanks to the shade generated by photovoltaic solar panels, making the use of water for irrigation and protecting the crop from high temperatures and solar radiation.

One of the renewable companies that is promoting this type of technology and developing this type of project is Andes Solar, a company with more than 10 years of experience in the renewable industry, and which has more than 50 photovoltaic installations throughout the entire country. Chile, always working with sustainability in its DNA.

Martín Valenzuela, Business Manager and International Area of Andes Solar, explained in this regard that “the concept of agrovoltaics and the different applications that can be carried out are exceptional. It is possible to combine agricultural production and photovoltaic projects in one

same land in a sustainable way and that both applications benefit. Further development of this technology in Chile would allow a more efficient use of soils, by modernizing agricultural production through the use of renewable energy, possible savings in water consumption and protection from certain climatic conditions, among other issues. Its implementation will not only help combat climate change and reduce emissions, but will also boost the country's economic and social development."

Along the same lines, a study by researchers from Fraunhofer ResearchChile was recently released, which pointed out that agrovoltaic energy is a solution that would increase the efficiency of land use by 60%, adapting agricultural and energy production in the same place, highlighting the results of a pilot project in AgroPV that they developed, in which there was a decrease in the evaporation of soil moisture and the transpiration of crop water (evapotranspiration), registering a reduction of more than 30%.

Although there is progress in carrying out pilot projects led by Fraunhofer Chile, regional governments and developer companies such as Andes Solar, there is still much to be done and what better way to work collaboratively between industries as relevant and strategic for Chile as the agricultural and renewable.

SOLAR ANDES

With ten years of experience in development, construction, operation and maintenance of photovoltaic solar projects, Andes Solar has more than 50 photovoltaic installations throughout Chile with a strong conviction in sustainability.

In this sense, the company has integrated the Circular Economy in the development and construction of its projects to face the climate crisis, with the commitment to achieve a "zero waste" work, an initiative that it has developed in recent years recovering up to 100% of waste in these processes.