L R AS Published on Tuesday 10 September 2019 - n° 288 - Categories:PV Watch
A look at the new horizons of photovoltaics
Large power plants are increasingly confronted with a lack of available space.
Reconciling farmers with photovoltaics
The same result with shrimp basins
Fraunhofer's investigation points in the same direction.
The other horizon that is opening up is the rental of roofs
Farmers appreciate renting their roofs on shed
No money outlay and income!
Under these conditions, the success of this formula is not surprising.
A comparable rental formula
The text :
Large power plants are increasingly confronted with the lack of available surface area
A major obstacle to the expansion of photovoltaics today is that large power plants occupy agricultural space. This creates a conflict of use between crop and energy. People living near these plants are increasingly mobilised against the construction of photovoltaic plants near their homes. Arkolia has experienced this with its 313 MW project, which has been contested by the inhabitants of Larzac. If this is a project that has come to the public square, many others are not known outside the discussion room. And they are abandoned! The conflict is only just beginning and will only get worse. Perhaps even to the point of eliminating any new construction of large power plants ...
Curiously, this week, two types of concordant information will open up new horizons for photovoltaics, and allow for a certain development. This will no longer involve huge power plants, but rather a reconciliation of farmers with photovoltaics, or rather a combination of crops with energy production. The other horizon that is opening up is the rental of roofs, which provides income, either to farmers or to roof owners.
Reconciling farmers with photovoltaics
Two studies from the United States (Oregon and Arizona) have analysed the effects of installing photovoltaic panels at height on market gardening. Both reach the same conclusion: solar panels provide shelter from the sun, increase the humidification of spaces, significantly reduce the need for water, and increase market garden production. Of three species (chiltepin peppers, jalapeño pepper and cherry tomatoes ) grown in parallel in Arizona (some under the shelter of panels, others outdoors), pepper production has tripled, tomato production has doubled, and pepper production has been comparable.
The situation is comparable in Oregon, where the vegetation is more abundant. Some varieties of lettuce have a better yield in the shade of the panels than in the open air. As if the sun, in case of intense heat, hindered plant growth. The studies do not say whether other plants were studied and whether the findings were similar or different.
Even the production of photovoltaic energy is increased because the humidity of the plants (their respiration) cools the panels which can produce more.
The same result with shrimp ponds
Last week, Fraunhofer reported on his experience with water farms in Vietnam (Photovoltaic, a protective roof and production tool in Vietnam). He mentioned that shrimps reproduce better and grow faster with a photovoltaic cover, rather than with the traditional protection placed over the ponds to avoid droppings or diseases from birds.
The conclusion of these studies prompted the Swedish company Vattenfall to carry out agrivoltaic (PV panel farming) trials in the Netherlands.
Fraunhofer's investigation is along the same lines.
As early as November 2017, Fraunhofer drew attention to this culture-energy combination with an experiment in Bavaria (It is possible to cultivate under solar panels.). The 194 kW PV installation was spread over a third of a hectare, and was installed at a height of five metres. The crops had been cut back slightly (between -5% with clover and -19% with potatoes or wheat). However, in twelve months, the panels had produced a third more energy than was used for the farm's needs. Instead of having one hectare of wheat and one hectare of panels providing 100% each, the two hectares covered by panels produced 160% wheat and 160% energy! A significant gain.
The other horizon that is opening up is the rental of roofs
France is also examining the use of signs on farms. The Energy-Climate team of the Chamber of Agriculture of Brittany has carried out some forty studies to determine the optimal size of photovoltaic power plants to be installed on the roofs of sheds or farm buildings. It considered five activities (production of milk, pork, poultry, market gardening, methanisation) spread over forty farms representing 1.9 MW, with an average installed power of 46.7 kWp. The authors of the study note that photovoltaic power plants are particularly profitable for the dairy and pig activity.
The study estimates the gross savings from PV installations at €4.3 million excluding VAT over 20 years. The net savings (taking into account loan repayment and maintenance annuities) amount to €1.4 million excluding VAT over twenty years. The authors add that while some agricultural activities are well suited to PV income (milk, pork), others are less so or not at all. They point out that at the current electricity tariff, the net savings remain relatively low for a majority of projects. Hence the aid of the Chamber of Agriculture of Brittany to the tune of 20% for investment in these rooftop power stations. A second call for regional projects is expected to be launched in autumn 2019.
Farmers appreciate renting their roofs on shed
Farmers are much more interested than one might think in installing panels on the roof of their shed or house. In just a few weeks, the hangarsolaire.fr site, launched in July 2019, has already collected 2,000 projects for installations with a minimum of 100 kWp. Of course, the product is attractive because the site offers to either build a new hangar free of charge (20% of requests), or to renovate the existing roof, or to install panels on existing roofs.
No money outlay but income!
This offer is attractive because the farmer does not have to take any money out. Depending on the formula chosen, he benefits from regular income linked to the sale of the electricity produced. The site puts the roof owner in touch with developers. The whole project is financed by investors. The advertisement states that "the average amount for covering the costs of building or renovating farm buildings would be €20,000. If the 450,000 French farms decided to use this mechanism, the gain for the farming world would amount to 9 billion euros and generate 45 GWp of solar electricity, the equivalent of 51 nuclear power stations".
Under these conditions, the success of this formula is not surprising.
It simply replicates the formula offered to all rooftops, large and small, by a number of commercial sites. On "locationtoiture.fr", during the first twelve months of activity of this company, 1,700 projects were submitted. 440 of them were selected and will be built in 2020. This corresponds to 44 MWp and sales of €66m. Here again, the success stems from the fact that the owner of the roof has nothing to finance, entrusts its space to a developer to install it and to investors who recover the amount of the work with the sale of the electricity produced.
A comparable rental formula
In Switzerland, as well as in France, more than ten companies have entered the niche of photovoltaic roofing installation on a rental basis. They all offer the same formula: install solar panels on a roof (sometimes with a minimum size) without paying anything, and, depending on the case, to benefit from rentals. At the moment, we are just starting out with this formula. These companies are not yet well-known. For their part, the owners will quickly make their calculations. The rooftop installations, which were very few in number (In the second quarter of 2009, the number of installations in France (4,355 installations in the second quarter alone, compared with 6,359 in the first quarter) will quickly regain interest.
All this indicates that photovoltaic, initially installed in the form of power plants, will gradually find a new lease of life by being installed on crops. and on the roofs. With all the economic and social consequences that this will have.
