Intersolar Europe: Growing Range of Agri-PV Products And Solutions - Major Agri-PV Project Clears Hurdle

Munich, Berlin / Germany - The EU has ambitious goals: Around 750 GW of solar power is to be installed by 2030. Dual land use concepts, especially agri-PV, are becoming increasingly important in the field of photovoltaics.

This is also evident at Intersolar Europe, where the focus this year is on agri-PV, among other things. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a milestone has now been reached for the construction of a large-scale plant.

Agriculture or renewable energies - in the past this was an either-or question. Today, however, Agri-PV as an innovative application offers promising options for agriculture and climate protection and makes it possible to combine agricultural production and renewable electricity generation on the same area. Another benefit for agricultural businesses is the additional protection against storm, hail, frost and drought damage, so that the overall resilience of many agricultural businesses to crop failures can be increased with agrivoltaic systems. At trade fairs such as Intersolar Europe, interest in the use of agrivoltaics is growing and the number and size of projects is also steadily increasing.

Intersolar Europe 2024: special focus on agri-PV

One focus of this year's Intersolar Europe, the world's leading trade fair for the solar industry, which will take place in Munich from June 19 to 21, 2024 as part of The smarter E Europe, Europe's largest trade fair alliance for the energy industry, is agrivoltaics.

European countries such as Germany and France are supporting agrivoltaics in order to drive forward the expansion of solar power while minimizing competition for land. With its Solar Package 1, Germany has introduced its own auction segment with a maximum value for “special solar systems”, which include agri-PV systems, and France is regarded as a pioneer with its own legislation.

Against this backdrop, visitors to Intersolar will have the opportunity to get to know a wide range of technologies, products and solutions for agri-PV and gain in-depth insights into current best practices and developments. Over 60 of the more than 1,370 Intersolar exhibitors will be showcasing and providing information on products and solutions for agri-PV. Experts will provide additional in-depth information on the topic in comprehensive sessions at the Intersolar Forum and during the Intersolar Europe Conference, thereby expanding the range of knowledge on offer. There is also the opportunity to visit the special show on the outdoor exhibition area. Partners of the special show are BayWa AG, BayWa r.e., Conexio PSE, Vista Geo and the Zimmermann PV-Steel Group. Among other things, the companies will be presenting tracking systems for agri-PV applications.

New agri-PV park in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to be built on an area of 71 hectares

The concrete implementation of Agri-PV projects is also gaining momentum. DVP Solar, a company specializing in the development of large-scale photovoltaic projects in Europe and Latin America, has now received the municipal planning approval for a new large-scale agri-PV project in the district of Northwest Mecklenburg. The solar plant, consisting of two sub-projects with a maximum capacity of 56 MWp, is to be built in the municipalities of Bobitz and Metelsdorf on an area of around 71 hectares.

According to DVP Solar, the plant will generate around 66,500 MWh of solar power per year. This is enough to cover the electricity needs of almost 20,000 households and avoid around 30,000 tons of CO₂ emissions. In order to produce as efficiently as possible, the solar modules are continuously tracked and optimally aligned with the sun using tracker technology.

Source: IWR Online, 15 May 2024