The US solar industry has grown in recent years , and the Democrats' latest climate legislation will receive a big boost. However, solar energy accounts for only 3 percent of the electricity supplied in the US—less than one-seventh of coal. If we are to adapt to the fossil fuel and electric vehicle revolution, the contribution of solar energy must grow faster and faster. But where do we put all the panels?
Per year According to a 2019 study by the University of Utah and Oregon State, the best places for solar installations are where we grow our food. So, like sun-loving tomatoes, when the mercury reaches north of 85 degrees Fahrenheit, solar panels lose their effectiveness at high temperatures. But that doesn't mean we have to starve to keep the lights on and the machines running. By raising solar panels high enough for people, plants and animals to work underneath, "we can collect twice as much sunlight," says University of Arizona researcher Greg Baron-Gofford. The panels protect against extreme heat, drought and storms while providing enough sunlight for crops to grow.
Barron-Gafford is part of a loose international network of scientists, solar advocates and farmers working to expand AgroCell that has experience in integrating solar installations with farmland. His corner of the world, the American Southwest, is seeing high temperatures and shrinking water resources as the Colorado River dries up, shutting off water for agriculture. Solar panels allow sunlight to hit the ground, “which means less water evaporation,” he says. "It doesn't just burn, it's needed for plant use."
Baron-Gafford and her team were able to double the yield of chiltepina, a common wild pepper in the region, by growing it under solar panels compared to outdoors. The production of cherry tomatoes has doubled. In addition, soil in PV plates holds 5-15 percent more moisture between waterings. “Installations do not only run on solar energy,” added Baron-Gafford. In fact, it helps the panel to be more efficient. “Every time plants open their pores to let in carbon dioxide, water comes out,” he explains. It reduces the temperature under the plate - just like a restaurant spray can withstand the hot temperature of an open-air dining room. According to the researchers, exposure to cold will cause a 3% increase in electricity production during the growing season.
In a sunny field near Boulder, Colorado, Baron Gavford and his team are working with Jack's Solar Garden, which is currently growing 5 acres of solar-powered vegetables and testing different crops to see if they can grow in partial shade. . In general, these cultures should be drunk twice a day. As Baron Gafford told me with the board, every day is enough.
In the relatively mild northeast at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, researchers have been growing broccoli, chard, cabbage and peppers under solar panels for five years. Solar fields typically produce slightly lower yields than control fields, but in 2016 they produced yields comparable to a normal warm season while generating valuable electricity. Researchers at the University of Oregon and the Indian Institute of Technology Indore recently calculated that 1 percent of U.S. farmland could be used for solar panels—8.3 million acres, roughly the size of Maryland—as much as 20 percent of the country's electricity needs, such as coal. . It produces more food and creates 100,000 new jobs. They wrote that it was "a rare opportunity for real integration: more food, more energy, less water demand, less carbon emissions, and more prosperous rural communities."
Neither solar energy developers nor farmers have expressed interest in the $9.4 billion annual investment to achieve the success described above. But the Inflation Reduction Act, which promised $20 trillion over 10 years for agricultural conservation and solar energy expansion programs, could be retracted. “We can put solar energy in inefficient places where no one will see it, but you pay for these transmission lines,” says Baron Gavford, “and jobs are far from settlements.” . The best places would be on the outskirts of cities, "where a lot of food is produced," he said. There, farmers can earn new income in addition to selling food: they pay for electricity generation and enjoy the shade.
