Eco- and Agri-Solar

The politicians were impressed by the fact that SUNfarming Agri-Solar systems, with a maximum height of just 3.6 metres, can be used for agricultural purposes with small tractors, which can be replaced by AI Agri Robotic in the future and blend in well with the landscape. They also praised the patented SUNfarming rainwater distribution system for extensive irrigation under the modules.

In addition to the tour of the plant, the following topics were addressed at the meeting:

- Solar open spaces are currently still 100% the responsibility of the Minister of Energy/Environment. Farmers and SUNfarming are calling for the Ministry of Agriculture to be given a say in authorisations for agri-solar systems.
- Another demand is that agri-solar must be eligible for authorisation in landscape conservation areas, as is already the case in other federal states, due to the agricultural production that is possible here.
- In view of the fact that set-asides (CAP 4-10% fallow land) can also be combined with agri-solar in the future, this will also lead to landscape conservation areas and sites with better soils being opened up for agri-PV in Saxony-Anhalt.
- In the opinion of SUNfarming, it is incomprehensible why land utilisation plans are still necessary for agricultural agri-solar systems. As agri-solar is still an agricultural use, it should not be treated as a purely open-space system, explains Peter Schrum, SUNfarming founder.

Village power concepts and school gardens:

To further increase acceptance significantly, SUNfarming already has regional village electricity concepts where the community receives cheaper electricity. The village electricity concept was also very well received. Just like the SUNfarming school garden, which is made available to the community in municipalities with agri-solar areas of 50 ha or more for joint use to grow vegetables, fruit or for poultry farming, for schools and kindergartens to teach healthy eating.

Under GAEC 8 (Healthy Agricultural Ecological Status), a set-aside area may only be grazed or mown in September. For this agricultural policy SUNfarming combines flowering meadows with agriphotovoltaics.
Over 40 different wildflower seeds are contained in the special mixture. Among them are various types of clover, meadow bluebell, viper's bugloss, corn poppy, true parsnip and meadow sage. The wildflower component in the SUNfarming mix is REWISA certified (Regional Wild Plant Seeds). Various grasses in the mixture increase forage quality and grazing suitability. They improve soil structure, suppress weeds and provide adaptation to dry or wet soil.

For biodiversity areas with natural species diversity, Agri-Photovoltaic plants are suitable, which are approx. 2.1m at the lowest edge. In general, sown wild herbs should reproduce themselves by seed. Cutting or mulching should therefore only take place after the seeds have set or not at all.

Due to the shading and the resulting cooler climate, evaporation under the panels is considerably reduced. Even between the rows of panels, the shadows cast by the module table counteract drying out. Under the panels, flowering plants develop more in the second year of standing and can flower for a very long time. The rainwater distribution technique has a positive effect; in this area, plants thrive better on light soil.

"From my point of view, it is worthwhile under Agri-PV systems to use a very versatile mix that can adapt to the environment (different shading, different soil, different climate depending on the location even within the system). Not only single grasses/flowering plants should be used. Drought-tolerant plants can be used as well as moisture-loving ones," explains Michael Bleiker, SUNfarming project manager at the Rathenow Research and Innovation Centre.

The wildflower mix produced for SUNfarming can now also be purchased under the trade name SUNfarming B1 from „Samen Schwarzenberger“.

"We offer solutions for farmers who want to keep cows on their fields, for example. Then you can put up our photovoltaic protective roofs, which let wind and sun through and protect against rain," says Uwe Brandt, SUNfarming Project Manager North-East Office. "So you can combine livestock farming and energy production and this dual use is also eligible for subsidies. For us, this year's Mela was a complete success. We were able to provide many interested farmers with the necessary knowledge about the products and establish a number of contacts," says Brandt. The response was very positive. "We would like to come back next year and present the photovoltaic roofs again," says the project developer.

Prof. Dr Volker Quaschning is Professor of Renewable Energy Systems at HTW-Berlin. Expert on renewable energies, energy transition, climate protection and book author, LinkedIn top voice with over 160,000 followers in social media. With regular new content on climate change and energy policy topics, he puts current debates into a scientific context. Among other things, the Solar Storage Systems Research Group (https://solar.htw-berlin.de/) is working on an electricity storage inspection and the development of a key figure to evaluate the energy efficiency of PV storage systems.
During a joint tour with Michael Bleiker, the plant manager in Rathenow, the research facilities were presented with first exciting insights. Special interest was shown in the various plant cultures that SUNfarming successfully cultivates under special self-developed Agri-PV systems. Richard Rose and Marek Enzenbach presented the ongoing research project "PV cooling mat" to increase the efficiency of a PV system by means of surface cooling mats in combination with an underground storage tank.

Afterwards, general topics around current and future research projects such as agro-robotics, aquaponic systems and battery systems for the future (base load supply, PPA contracts, balancing energy) were discussed.
The HTW will conduct an interview with a SUNfarming employee about the planning of PV ground-mounted systems. The findings from this interview will be integrated into the study content of the HTW-Berlin, including area design, EEG basic rules, height problems in construction and shading analysis.
Together with Prof. Dr Volker Quaschning, SUNfarming will develop and offer several final thesis topics

More than 25 farmers and various personalities from the region came together to get first-hand information about the latest developments in the field of Agri-Photovoltaics, dual use of agricultural land and moor PV solutions.
Managing Director of Friedländer Landhandels- und Dienste GmbH Mr Jürgen Ströde warmly welcomed the guests to the lecture event. Founder and main shareholder of the SUNfarming Group Mr. Peter Schrum introduced the topic and handed over to BRM President/Managing Director of Project Development at SUNfarming Edith Brasche.
After the seminar, there was a Q&A session where the many exciting questions were clarified.
At the end of the event, the audience was able to visit an Agri-PV pilot plant that SUNfarming has installed on site.
We would like to thank the visitors for their great interest and participation in the event.

Several thousand farmers from Germany, but also from countries such as Poland, Hungary, Switzerland, Austria, Canada and the USA - came to the SUNfarming stand to find out about Agri-PV solutions for both animals and special crops. More than 1,000 hectares of potential Agri-Solar areas were included in the early SUNfarming planning in Germany.

For more than 10 years, SUNfarming has been developing Agri-PV solutions with glass-glass modules and rainwater distribution system under the modules with its own engineers and has been researching them for many years in different developing countries of the world under extreme climatic conditions as well as with different types of plants. Due to the climate changes as well as the energy crisis in Germany, farmers from all over Germany and neighbouring countries were very interested in the SUNfarming solutions. They were particularly enthusiastic about the well thought-out solution for keeping animals on pastures protected by Agri-PV all year round.

Due to the rainwater separation and the semi-transparent modules, which allow approx. 15 % light to pass through, plant growth is ensured under the modules, CO2 remains in the soil due to the areal moisture distribution. The agricultural status of the land is maintained with SUNfarming Agri-PV. As a partner of the farmer, SUNfarming places particular emphasis on the agricultural concept, which is developed together with the farmer and his agricultural advisor. SUNfarming Agri-PV is ideally suited for areas with low soil points as well as arable land for special crops (fruit/vegetables) and for animal welfare-oriented livestock farming, as well as for moorland that is to be re-wetted.