Climate change brings with it more frequent and severe weather events like storms, fires, droughts, hail, extreme heat and floods. In recent years we’ve seen the impacts those kinds of events can have on our horticulture sector with heavy crop losses and reduced returns to producers but also decreased supply and increased cost of fresh produce for consumers.
There’s an imperative to mitigate the impacts of climate change on yield while also reducing the carbon-footprint of our food production by lessening reliance on fossil fuels and managing inputs like fertilisers.
While solar energy is sometimes seen as competing with land for food production, the transition to renewables can embrace innovative approaches like agrivoltaics where both are combined.
The Renewables in Agriculture Centre of Excellence (RenCoE), a partnership between the Charles Sturt University AgriPark and Food Agility CRC, is looking to test innovative solutions to provide new revenue streams and help the transition to net-zero carbon emissions.
RenCoE Director, Stephen Summerhayes, points to the potential for agrivoltaics systems over vineyards that harness renewable energy and protect crops.
“One of the things we’re interested in exploring is using solar panels to create self-contained protected cropping systems to mitigate climate impacts. Using digital sensors and smart controls for precision irrigation, nutrient delivery and microclimate control, these systems will also optimise crop growth, minimise resource use, and potentially boost solar panel efficiency,” Stephen said.
Associate director of wine programs at the Charles Sturt University AgriPark Mark Bourne has been working with the RenCoE team on a project called ‘Vitivoltaics’, applying agrivoltaics in viticulture.
“The potential to deliver benefits in production while reducing our carbon footprint and possibly generating additional revenue or savings from onsite power generation will be a game-changer,” he said.
Mr Bourne said testing and validating these concepts in a real-world scenario is crucial for the future of Australian vineyards.
“By working together to design, build prototypes, and scale-up solutions, we can create a more resilient and sustainable industry that is better equipped to face the challenges of climate change."
Stephen believes there’s also potential to take agrivoltaics further by using second-life or 'early retired’ solar panels and batteries to boost reuse and resource recovery.
“The Australian Centre of Advanced Photovoltaics estimates that more than 100,000 tonnes of panels will enter Australia’s waste stream each year by 2030,” Stephen said.
“There’s considerable potential to divert these panels into new solar installations to reduce waste and create a more circular approach and we’re looking at developing the business model for use in agriculture.”
Agrivoltaics isn’t a new concept, Japan has more than 1900 agrivoltaic farms covering 560 hectares, others include France, Germany, China, Korea and the United States.
But testing, validating and showcasing these concepts in Australian production systems is important and Stephen said that’s where RenCoE comes in.
“We’re interested in partnering with industry, government and technology providers to design, build prototypes and road-test new solutions in real-world scenarios,” he said.
“The Centre is also focused on exploring opportunities to scale-up solutions and develop pathways to adoption and commercialisation.”
Read more about RenCoE in our recent blog ‘How will we power farming in the future’ .
Learn more about RenCoE and the opportunities for collaboration.
