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False dilemma.
Also that ain't no field.
Crop yields are only very slightly affected by agrivoltaics and variance tends to be reduced. Water usage is reduced a lot.
Even dedicated agrivoltaics would only cover a fraction of usually sub standard land for giant power outputs. The fear of someone plastering the environment with solar is fear mongering.
Building enough parking infrastructure to cover with panels is a waste of space (outside of America).
It's probably a good idea to put solar panels on car parks where we're going to have car parks anyway, though. In addition to agrivoltaics and using, as you say, substandard land for large scale solar. Also put it on roofs. Basically anywhere it doesn't do any harm, I say.
Governments should encourage every home to have at least enough solar powered energy to run a small refrigerator, a space heater, a small cooking surface, and a radio as a matter of national security. That can be achieved with porch solar and significantly hardens a population against attacks on energy infrastructure.
this is the synergy the middle managers were looking for
I don’t think it is intentional on OP’s part, but this is really well-disguised fossil fuel propaganda. Carport solar is way more expensive than ground-mounted, and it isn’t viable for utility-scale projects. Should we do carport solar? Absolutely! But we also really need utility scale solar.
And if you put it on marginal farm land and make the ground cover pollinator-friendly, it actually improves yields on nearby farms without any real loss, since that land wasn’t great for growing food anyway. (Not to mention that cropland is about the furthest thing from a natural ecosystem)
many also put them on pasture land, the grass grows just fine under it, and the animals get some shade to hang out in
Only problem is many pasture animals are not compatible with agrovoltaics. Cows tends to rub on the supports and may chew any exposed wires, goats will find their way on top of the panels no matter what you do, pigs will chew on any exposed wire or insulation, and sheep, well they're actually okay for agrovoltaics.
There's the alternate approach of basically using solar panels as fences which might work better for some pastures. Ultimately agrovoltaics is one of those combinations of factors that is going to take time and experimentation to perfect
I think it's unreasonable to say it's fossil fuel propaganda. I like having shade and coverage in a car parking lot.
It's not that the solar covering is just for solar power, but it's a convenient pitch to combine the use cases where sure, solar covering parking is more expensive than solar straight on the ground, and sure, a plain covering is cheaper than a solar covering, but right now the lots are uncovered bits of asphalt that could be better.
I'm a farmer, rancher, and dairyman. This shit pisses me off. You can get dual use out of land. I can grow crops and graze cattle around and often under solar panels. The limiting factor is what the power company will allow me to sell to them. And they don't want that because bottom lines.
Seriously. The oil industry has been extracting petrochemicals from the earth while we utilize the land above for animals and crops for over a hundred years. Its not difficult. Saying that renewables are using up our land and not allowing dual utilization for other commodities is a lazy and piss poor lie that will not stop and I'm tired of it.
Stop this nonsense bullshit petro propaganda now. Alternative energy can and already does coexist with modern land management and modern farming practices. Full stop.
Cover every dead roof that has sunshine beating down on it, yes.
But there’s an actual benefit to covering fields. Livestock can get shade and keep the grass in check for one thing.
Cover the corn fields that are 95% being used to produce ethanol for fuel mixture into gasoline. Replace a one-time-use fuel that takes a ton of water to produce, contributes to pesticide usage, and requires a bunch more energy for processing (and makes your car run less efficiently anyway) with energy that can power homes, vehicles, industry, etc. starting now and lasting for decades with a one time investment into fully recyclable materials that is already pretty low cost and lowering all the time.
It's actually only 25% to 45%, that is turned into ethanol, depending on the source. Most of the rest of the corn is animal feed. You are correct that humans only eat about 5% of the corn we grow.
Except that agrivoltaics works out being better for the crops and the panels. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrivoltaics
The crops part is similar to why grass grows better under trampolines. https://youtu.be/CoDn-1rGcpk
Some plants are shade loving and would do great under properly spaced panels
That's call Agrivoltaics. Strawberries are a prime example.
Solar farms in desert areas contribute to China’s renewable energy capacity while also helping to stabilize the landscape. The shade provided by the solar panels reduces the harsh impact of the sun on the soil, creating more favorable conditions for vegetation to grow. In some instances, grass has started to grow beneath the panels, which aids in reducing soil erosion and supporting the local ecosystem.
I like the vertically mounted bifacial panels.
Highly recommended for areas that get a lot of snow.
Why not both?
Panels on grazing areas and some fields has repeatedly been proven beneficial
Just cover all fields used to grow biofuel crops with solar panels, it's an insane number used for biofuels - like enough to power the whole US twice over if they were all covered in solar.
Its is nearly always a transmission bottlenecks that hinders these. How to get all tbat power out of rural areas.
Repurpose combines to drive over the solar panels and harvest the energy. Then pile it up in giant piles near rail roads. From there train it to depots for distribution. Infrastructure is already there!
I won't lie, my thought is, can't we just have both?
There has been research into the benefits of solar panels over farmland, and also are benefits of solar panels over parking lots.
Call me an insane idealist, I would love the idea of implementing over both.
Both. AgroPV is a win win win.
It gives farmers an additional income stream
They can still farm the field with most Setups
Below the panels, the soil can regenerate and grow "weeds", important for bugs and small criters.
Even if they don't farm, you still get soil regeneration and solar panels leave no trace when removed.
But yeah, all the roofs, all the parking lots as well.
I thought agrivoltaics gives a better yield as it protects the grass from too much sunlight that would cause it to dry out? I know in my garden the patch with the most grass growth had a wood sheet hanging over it.
THIS !!!!!!!!
As a solar engineer myself that started in utility scale solar and just left their first Commercial & Industrial (C&I) solar job, residential, commercial, and industrial solar is the best use.
you center generation as close as possible to utilization, minimizing transmission and distribution.
land is re-used, allowing other lands for other uses like rewilding, reforesting, and conservation.
You still have other problems like large power users, but you cannot ignore the benefits.
I hate that this even came to my mind, but I bet a significant percentage of people would actually be discouraged by point 2. I'm all in on it, go team save (and restore) the environment, but it seems like so many people sneer and get turned off just by hearing words such as "rewilding" as if it's somehow working against their best interests
To the capitalist, everything is an asset that can make money, including land. No money making in returning land to nature, unless a positive externality is introduced by a tax credit or something. Not a perfect solution by far, but rewilding is a necessary pill to swallow because we're in the sixth mass extinction and are using land for things like cows and pigs which is super water and fertilizer intensive.
I wonder why not every single new warehouse, corporate HQ, supermarket, strip mall, shopping mall and commercial building do not have solar panels on their roofs?
I totally agree and I've been saying this for a little while. But get this, since there are plenty of unused grassy properties out there in America, there's somewhere they're making deals with sheep heard owners where the sheep are regularly brought over to the property to eat grass around and under the solar panels. Apparently trying to keep the grass cleaned up and not overgrowing the panels is a problem because of all the little nooks and crannies, getting mowing done under and around them as a pain in the ass. But the sheep can just come in there get a free meal and do the job perfectly well. It's win-win.
Some combos are beneficial for the plants bellow. Either way, any solar plant is better than coal.
Akshualy, covering your fields (partially) with solar increases crop yield by up to 20%. And also feeds your tractor environmentally friendly.
Parking lots are already wasted space—might as well make them useful too.
I have explanation, but you will not like it.
Parking lots have been built on cheap. Those who have roofs can't support any added weight, while those who do not have roofs are far away from any serious electrical connection able to give the energy outside.
The whole idea can be done... on new parking lots.
Also - how about instead we build more water-plant power storage? They pump water to the upper reservoir using electricity in the middle of day, and then produce electricity from flowing water at dawn/dusk/night. This would up the demand for electricity when solar panels are overproducing it and push businesses to consider including solar panels in their constructions.
By all means do both! The more solar power the better.
Cover both
Dont cover our car parks. Cover our public transit stations.....oh wait. There are none. (USA)
