PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Large areas in Europe are used for agriculture. At the same time a fast-growing area is used for photovoltaic (PV) in order to achieve the EU 2030 Climate Target Plan (reaching climate neutrality by 2050). This leads to land use competition between agricultural use and power generation. Combining the use of both on the same piece of land has the potential for considerable synergistic benefits.
Certain Agri-photovoltaics (Agri-PV) technologies have proven to be an effective solution in small-scale pilots. This type of PV is allowed in few EU Member States, but the necessary legislation and standards are missing in most EU countries. The dual use of land (agri and PV) should be simplified. Technical scale-up, legal integration and rapid replication are urgently needed, and there is still room for the improvement of technical details – e.g. compatibility with GPS-guided farm vehicles.
OBJECTIVES
LIFE EU LEAD-PV aimed to take the demonstration of dual land use combining PV and arable farming from small-scale pilot to large-scale implementation, and prove that it is an economically attractive source of renewable energy without disturbing the agricultural use of land. The demonstration was to be carried out in three countries with different climates (DE, ES, IT) and provide solid evidence by a strong monitoring of effects and comparison with other comparable sites by climate and crop.
EU LEAD-PV also aimed to demonstrate that farmers can continue with their cultivation techniques and farm machinery. To communicate and disseminate this, a demonstration plot (800 kWp rating) was to be set up close to an education centre in Germany.
Additionally, the project would show that the rows of PV panels have similar effects as agro-forestry: providing shade, lowering temperature and wind speed, and thus reducing water demand and erosion by keeping soil moisture high and avoiding loss of soil due to strong wind.
Furthermore, the project was to provide a method of shared financing by which the farmer could choose their financial engagement from zero to full investment in the transition to Agri-PV. This financing model would have removed the hurdle of the high initial investment and accelerated replication.
An additional focus of the project was expected to be legal aspects and standards, to enable dual land use for Agri-PV and simplify its implementation in the countries and regions of the demonstration, as well as other countries.
RESULTS
The project could not be implemented as planned. The project experienced a series of important setbacks. In addition to the long permission duration, obtaining the grid connection was more difficult than planned and the unfavourable market environment impacted the project’s feasibility. Therefore, the project had to be stopped by end of March 2025 before construction started.