A new report from the University of Sheffield claims that agrivoltaics, a technology combining solar energy production with agriculture, could generate more than four times the UK's current electricity demand without sacrificing farmland.
The study highlights the potential of agrivoltaics, where solar panels are installed in a way that allows for farming activities to continue beneath or between them. According to the research, this technology could be deployed in key agricultural regions, including Cambridgeshire, Essex, and Lincolnshire, as well as across the broader east and southeast of England.
The regions are deemed suitable due to factors such as flat land availability, high levels of solar radiation, and proximity to grid connections, researchers say. Professor Sue Hartley, the university's vice-president for research and innovation and co-author of the study, emphasized the promise of agrivoltaics in addressing concerns over the impact of large-scale solar parks on farmland.
“The government and solar developers have ambitious plans for the expansion of solar farms but these risk the loss of agricultural land needed for food production at a time when global food security is threatened by geopolitical uncertainty and climate change,” Professor Hartley stated.
The study also asserts that agrivoltaics could meet the UK's solar photovoltaic (PV) targets independently, without contributing to land-use conflicts that have arisen from ground-mounted solar parks. These concerns include the potential loss of high-quality agricultural land, the impact on food production, and visual changes to landscapes.
Professor Hartley noted that agrivoltaic systems are already in use in countries with less sunlight than the UK, such as Scandinavia, and have proven beneficial. “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,” she said.
The report follows a £1.4 million project previously led by the University of Sheffield, which installed agrivoltaic systems on farmland in Tanzania and Kenya. The technology was shown to boost crop yields, conserve water, and provide low-carbon electricity, particularly benefiting regions vulnerable to climate change.
Certain crops, including maize, Swiss chard, and beans, thrived under the partial shade of solar panels. Additionally, the shade helped reduce water evaporation, making irrigation more efficient, while the panels themselves captured rainwater to supplement irrigation, the study found.
Researchers are now calling for greater consideration of agrivoltaics as a solution for balancing the need for renewable energy with agricultural productivity in the UK.
