In recent years, the adoption of agrovoltaic systems has increased in European agricultural landscapes, marking a new era in sustainable energy production. These systems seamlessly integrate agriculture with solar photovoltaic energy production, revolutionizing land use by installing solar panels on agricultural or livestock land.

Renewable energy generation and agricultural activities thus share the same space. For this reason, agrovoltaics present a variety of benefits including income diversification for farmers, protection of crops against adverse weather conditions and mitigation of soil erosion.

Customized use for maximum agricultural and energy efficiency

PVH’s commitment to innovation is reflected in its focus on integrating advanced technologies into agrivoltaic systems to optimize performance. PVH’s solar tracking solutions offer increased energy efficiency by tracking the sun’s path throughout the day, resulting in increased energy production. In addition, their elevated panels provide easier access to crops, sunlight and machinery or personnel needed for farming tasks, ensuring more efficient use of the land. This expertise has already been put to the test in the Winesolar project, the first smart agrovoltaic plant in Spain, which is equipped with a PVH tracker.

As a manufacturer, PVH controls the entire production process of the tracker and structures, from design to factory assembly. In this way, PVH can customize its tracker systems to meet the unique needs of each installation. This customization includes adjusting the height and specifications of the fixed structures, as well as offering the user the ability to configure the trackers to trigger specific positions suitable for different farming activities, such as harvesting and planting. This optimizes the performance of the installation in both photovoltaic power generation and its original agricultural purpose.

The agrivoltaic market in Europe is experiencing significant growth, driven by the increasing demand for renewable energy and the need to optimize land use. PVH has adapted to these new needs and is committed to adopting more advanced technologies, such as solar tracking systems to maximize the potential of agrivoltaic projects. Challenges, such as design optimization to ensure maximum efficiency in energy production and agriculture, are being addressed through advanced analysis and simulation modeling, leveraging PVH’s experience as one of the world’s largest tracker manufacturers.

The future of agrivoltaics in Europe

Looking to the future, agrivoltaic projects are poised to play a key role in Europe’s energy transition, offering an innovative solution to sustainability and resilience challenges in the agricultural sector. PVH is committed to leading innovation in this field, driving the large-scale adoption of agrivoltaics and collaborating with strategic partners to promote sustainable development in the region.

Agrivoltaics has the potential to play a significant role in improving energy security and diversification of energy sources in Europe in the long term. By harnessing existing agricultural infrastructure for renewable energy production, it reduces dependence on fossil fuel imports and strengthens the energy system. This will help ensure a more stable and sustainable energy supply for future generations.

Agrivoltaic projects represent an innovative and sustainable solution to increase solar power generation capacity while promoting sustainable agriculture and strengthening food security. This is becoming increasingly important in the European solar PV market as it addresses two key challenges: the scarcity of land available for solar projects and the need to optimize land use in a context of a highly developed agricultural industry. As agrivoltaic projects continue to expand, they represent a sustainable solution to increase solar power generation capacity, promote sustainable agriculture and strengthen food security in Europe.