The Mysterious, Fascinating Science of Agrivoltaics
Agrivoltaics—putting solar panels on farmland—lead to astonishing productivity gains and improved energy efficiency. Except when they don't.
01The CounterScience & Technology2022
The opening
On the outskirts of the famed research facility Biosphere 2, away from the futuristic glass pyramid and tiered trapezoids alive with self-contained habitats, University of Arizona biogeographer Greg Barron-Gafford oversees a small outdoor garden. It's a darker, cooler plot than most, thanks to its distinctive feature: solar panels. Mounted on 9-foot-tall beams, so lofty a tractor could pass below them, the solar panels slant against the blue sky of the high desert, throwing shade on the short rows of basil and onions beneath.
The presence of plants ups solar energy production, and solar panels returned the favor for two of the three plants he studied.
This is an excerpt. The full story ran in The Counter.
Read the full story at The Counter