Agrivoltaics, where farming and clean energy meet

Ronan Power, CEO of Solar Ireland, sees agrivoltaics as an opportunity to align climate action with the future of farming 

One good example of Agrivoltaics involves the shared use of land for solar parks and sheep grazing. Photo: iStock

As climate change accelerates and the world’s population continues to grow, novel approaches such as agrivoltaics (AV) are attracting interest as a way to support both food production and clean energy generation.

At its core, agrivoltaics involves placing solar panels above or between crops so that electricity can be generated at the same time as food is grown. By making dual use of land, advocates say it can make farming more resilient, help conserve water and offer farmers new streams of revenue.