Agri-PV conference showcases current developments in dual-use land

Around 450 participants from the solar industry, agriculture, and research converged on sunny Freiburg im Breisgau to learn about the latest developments in agriphotovoltaics. Connexio-PSE is organizing the international Agri-PV meeting for the sixth time – this year in the Black Forest city, which also houses the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE).

Agri-PV was already known in 1981

The choice of location is no coincidence. Fraunhofer ISE is one of the pioneers in developing solutions and ideas for the dual use of agricultural land for food and energy production, as Institute Director Andreas Bett emphasizes. He recalls that Institute founder Adolf Götzberger published the first approach to the topic in 1981. "This was a real vision back then," says Andreas Bett. "Few people thought of such approaches back then."

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Pioneer of agri-PV research

Andreas Bett points out that Fraunhofer ISE built the first agri-PV test facility in Hegelbach to test the proposed possibilities in practice. Many such systems have since been built. But research is still necessary. Farmers interested in such solutions need to be able to calculate the impact of agri-PV on agricultural yields.

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Are the promised returns true?

A heated discussion ensued on the panel. "We also have to consider the farmers' side of the equation. Because with agri-PV, we're promising them that they'll increase their income. That's very attractive. But is that really true?" Christian Dupraz of the Paris-based National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE) asked provocatively. "Are these increased yields an average, or does it only happen once every ten years?"

Protect reference soils

He sees, among other things, the problem with the control plots, which serve as a comparison for yields without solar panels in test installations. "However, during the construction of the agri-PV test facility, the material is often stored on these plots, so these soils are initially destroyed," says Christian Dupraz. "So it's not surprising that the yields on these soils are lower than those under the solar modules," he explains, pointing to a possible error in the tests.

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Specify a profit margin

So, more research, honest research, is needed. However, there was a suggestion from the audience that a great many results have already been obtained. Numerous studies have been conducted on plant growth. Later, solar panels were added. All effects have been studied—from the impact on photosynthesis caused by shading to the protection of plants in the face of advancing climate change. Researchers who study these topics can give farmers a range of the effects of photovoltaics on yields. Even from the agricultural research community, no one can give a specific yield for a specific area.

Nevertheless, the research results presented at the conference point in an interesting direction. You can find out about the current results from a research facility on apple trees in Aden-Württemberg in the next part of our series on the Agrivoltaics World Conference 2025 in Freiburg, which will be published tomorrow.