AGRIVOLT Integrating Green Energy and Food production in a dynamic AgriPhotoVoltaic system (AGRIVOLT)

As a response to the ongoing environmental and energy crises, Photovoltaics (solar panels) are increasingly being installed on farmland in Denmark and Europe. This development has taken place despite the fact that agricultural land is a scare resource needed to feed the Worlds rapidly increasing food demand. 

An important next step in this development is AgriPhotoVoltaic systems that benefit from dual use of farm land areas by combining electricity production with agricultural production. This allows for more than agricultural land area carbon neutrality by offsetting the remaining production emissions. However, the present photovoltaics systems are not designed to facilitate cultivation of food crops, but solely for maximizing energy production. AGRIVOLT will in a full-scale experiment investigate the potentials and limitations of using an AgriPV system installed on high-productive farmland. 

The project consortium consists of the four partners European Energy, Aarhus University, University of Copenhagen and Slagelse Municipality. All partners provide important and complimenting technology and knowledge on photovoltaics, cropping systems and food production, biodiversity, management of field robots and economic and sociological knowledge to secure both the technical and agricultural success of the project and to uncover challenges and solutions for the implementation and path to the market.