The Development of Agriculture Solar Farm Mounting System in Various Regions

Agrivoltaics, also known as solar farm mounting, is a practice where solar panels are installed above farmland to generate electricity while crops are grown beneath them. This innovative approach allows for dual land use, where renewable energy generation and agricultural production can coexist on the same land. Here are some key points about agrivoltaics solar installations around the world:

1. China: the world's largest application market

Scale: By 2024, the installed capacity will exceed 15GW, accounting for over 60% of global agricultural light projects.

Technical Features:

Mainly using fixed angle brackets, the northwest region adopts "photovoltaic+grass", and the eastern coastal region develops "photovoltaic+aquaculture".

Huawei, Longi and other companies have launched intelligent irrigation systems that integrate photovoltaic power generation and agricultural Internet of Things.

Typical case:

The 100MW project in Yanchi County, Ningxia: Planting alfalfa under photovoltaic panels, generating 120 million kWh of electricity annually and producing 3000 tons of grass.

2. Japan: Land scarcity drives innovation

Scale: Approximately 800MW of new installed capacity will be added in 2024, with a cumulative total of over 4GW.

Technical Features:

Adjustable angle bracket: Adjust the tilt angle of the photovoltaic panel according to the season to balance light and crop demand (such as the blueberry planting project in Ibaraki Prefecture).

Small scale systems (≤ 50kW) account for 70% and are suitable for decentralized farms.

3. Germany: Dual Drive of Policy and Research

Scale: Add 220MW of agricultural light projects in 2024, with a cumulative breakthrough of 1.2GW.

Research Collaboration:

Fraunhofer ISE research shows that planting potatoes under semi transparent photovoltaic panels can reduce yield by only 15% and increase overall economic benefits by 40%.

Pilot "dynamic shading" system: AI adjusts the angle of photovoltaic panels based on crop light demand.

Typical case:

10MW project in Lower Saxony: Planting rye with photovoltaic panels spaced 4 meters apart, generating electricity to meet the needs of 5000 households.

4. United States: Differentiated Development among States

Leading states:

California: In 2024, the SB-672 bill will allocate $120 million to support the "agriculture compatible photovoltaics" project, requiring a minimum crop yield of 75% of conventional farmland.

Massachusetts: SMART program provides an additional subsidy of $0.06/kWh for agricultural light projects.

Technological Trends:

The proportion of double-sided components and single axis trackers has increased (such as the lettuce planting project in Arizona, with a power generation increase of 22%).

Vertical photovoltaic brackets (such as Next2Sun technology) are suitable for row planting crops (corn, wheat).

Market size: Approximately 1.1GW of new agricultural photovoltaic installed capacity will be added in 2024, an increase of 35% compared to 2023.