37. #Agrivoltaics: a promising alliance between solar power and farming

Agrivoltaics is a set of practices that allow photovoltaic energy production and agricultural production to coexist on the same land, at the same time. In the current context of fluctuating energy bills, the solutions proposed by the solar power industry are beginning to gain more traction in Europe’s agriculture sector. But there’s much still that’s unclear – and this appears to be cause for hesitation. What impact do solar panels have on yields? Are photovoltaic solutions adapted to all types of culture and breeding? How should we supervise this nascent, but promising, sector so that farming does not become sacrified on the altar of solar power? The 37th epsiode of Food for Europe travels to France, an agrivoltaics pionneer, to meet Benoît Bougler, a farmer from Picardy who hosts one of the first solar panel installations above a cereal crop. Cédric Cogniez, head of agricultural partnerships for one of France's leading solar energy producers, TSE, takes stock of agrivoltaics in France. Lina Dubina, sustainability policy advisor at Solar Power Europe, the trade association for the European photovoltaic industry, discusses efforts at European level to promote the deployment of agrivoltaic solutions. Finally, Antanas, Karbauskas, policy coordinator for economic sustainability for the Common Agricultural Policy at the European Commission's DG AGRI, discusses the possibilities for agrivoltaics in the current European regulatory framework and the potential of solar energy in agriculture.