“Agrivoltaics” is a fairly recent term, and a very technical one at that, referring to the dual use of farmland for both power generation and cropping. It’s all in the name, really: “Agri”- culture meets, nay, merges with photo-“voltaics” in a win-win situation for the farmer. But how is this even possible? What about all the shade created by the photovoltaic system? And what about the space needed for agricultural machines to pass through?

In this video, I’m visiting Sylvain, the first farmer in France to experiment with PV arrays mounted above a properly cultivated field of arable crops (in his case: a rotation of soybeans, wheat, barley and rapeseed). At 5 m high, and along rows of 27 m wide, his shiny panels make for an impressive power plant in the aggregate, with a nameplate capacity of 2.4 MWp (megawatt-peak, i.e. under normal conditions of light intensity and temperature). Given these imposing dimensions, there’s no problem navigating standard heavy machinery underneath. And shading, it turns out, can actually be a boon rather than a burden for plant growth and yields in times of climate change. The “visual footprint” of the structure is potentially a different matter. How did neighbours and political decision-makers in his native Haute-Saône react to Sylvain’s plans? Over a leisurely walk, we have an open discussion about all aspects of running an agrivoltaic power plant like his.

Don’t want to miss an episode? Subscribe here to catch all of my upcoming videos on agricultural issues:
www.youtube.com/PierreGirardOfficiel/...

As a subscriber to my channel, you’ll be in good company: “Tous Terriens !” is a community of people who firmly believe that agriculture isn’t (just) part of the problem, but also the solution – for people, animals and the environment.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Follow me on:

  / pierre_girard  
  / pierregirardjournaliste  
  / artepierre  

-------------------------------------------------------------------

“Tous Terriens !” is an independent series, born from a sense of civic and professional duty to deliver quality information on the environmental and societal issues of our day. In keeping with this, I’ve self-financed this video.

Author and producer:
Pierre Girard

Co-author and camera,
translation and subtitles (FR/EN/DE):
Geoffrey Schöning

-------------------------------------------------------------------

#TousTerriens