Agri-PV could exceed UK power demand four-fold

Integrating solar panels into farmland could meet the UK’s electricity needs four times over, according to new research.

A University of Sheffield study said the use of agrivoltaics, which would see solar panels installed in ways to allow for farming activities underneath or between panels, could enable the simultaneous production of crops, livestock and renewable energy.

“Agrivoltaics has such high coverage potential that it could meet UK government PV targets on its own, while avoiding land use conflicts,” it concluded.

The report said current government plans to significantly increase ground-mounted solar parks have proven “contentious and unpopular with farmers and the public alike” over concerns around the loss of high-quality agricultural land and potential impacts on food production.

“Agrivoltaic technology is a potential way out of this dilemma. It allows us to use the same area of land for both food and clean energy production, addressing some of the criticism levelled at solar farms,” it said.