Imagine a field where solar panels and crops coexist—with no trade-off. It sounds like science fiction, but that's precisely what researchers from Aarhus University have now documented in a full-scale agrivoltaic pilot project in the Danish countryside.
It’s really weird because you’d think duh solar needs to face the sun. Buuut new panels are made two faced, the same silicon has two faces. These panels are more efficient, even in a traditional setup, because they get some reflected light on the back. But north south or east west facing vertical setups are crazy efficient in the more northern and southern hemispheres. The power output doesn’t change for winter as well, since the angle will be more optimal then. Overall kwh are down a bit through the year, but they give much more stable power through the seasons.
It’s crazy. We live in times where it makes more financial sense to install solar panels instead of a traditional fence.
On top of that, vertical panels stay cooler, which enhances efficiency. Such a counterintuitive thing.