{"id":20204,"date":"2024-04-08T09:45:29","date_gmt":"2024-04-08T09:45:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/?p=20204"},"modified":"2024-04-08T09:45:31","modified_gmt":"2024-04-08T09:45:31","slug":"californias-farmers-tap-agrovoltaics-on-the-sidelines-of-2024-solar-eclipse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/04\/08\/californias-farmers-tap-agrovoltaics-on-the-sidelines-of-2024-solar-eclipse\/","title":{"rendered":"California\u2019s farmers tap Agrovoltaics on the sidelines of 2024 solar eclipse\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the solar eclipse sweeps across North America on April 8, grapes<\/u><\/a>-endowed Kern County in California looks to agrovoltaics to boost farm production and renewable energy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though currently enjoying only small-scale photovoltaic solar panel projects, the county has been thinking large-scale<\/u><\/a> for over 6 months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since fall 2023, academic centers have been gauging the viability of solar investments, partially to improve sustainable farming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agrovoltaics <\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Successful\u00a0agrovoltaics,\u00a0which describes a merger of crop production and renewable energy, will require re-orienting farmers\u2019 attitudes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is why Columbia University and the Kern County\u2019s administration have been promoting the idea on growers through demonstrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In October 2023, California Renewable Energy Laboratory (CREL) demonstrated a commercial solar panel installation at Bakersfield College in Delano.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the practical, CREL operated multiple well-spaced 7.5 feet tall\u00a0photovoltaic (pv) panels<\/u><\/a>\u00a0to power a greenhouse cooling facility. The display also focused on how renewable power could operate farm equipment and charge location batteries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is California Ready for Commercial Solar Farming?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Despite the above practical set up, some agriculturalists think California is not ready for commercial PV solar set up.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Jon Reiter, a solar energy professional in an October 2023 interview with PPIC, cultivating large-scale row crops would be cost ineffective.<\/u><\/a> Arguably, the placement of solar panel rows on hundreds of acres of row crops would impede combine harvesters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the same interview, Renee Robin of Broad Reach Power projected double productivity for agrovoitacs in California.  Robin predicted 80% productivity if solar panel installation were spacious enough to allow the passage of heavy combine harvesters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The expert also noted that productivity would go both ways, in that crop production and energy production would equally hike. In short, there would be 160% productivity on a single piece of land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kern county is a major agricultural area in California with a gross agricultural production worth of\u00a0$8.34 billion<\/u><\/a>\u00a0in 2021. Key agricultural produce include grapes and citrus, followed by pistachios, almond and dairy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, as the area witnesses today\u2019s solar eclipse between 8.am and 11. a.m West Coast time, it will also think about agrovoltaics. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the solar eclipse sweeps across North America on April 8, grapes-endowed Kern County in California looks to agrovoltaics to boost farm production and renewable energy.  Though currently enjoying only small-scale photovoltaic solar panel projects, the county has been thinking large-scale for over 6 months.  Since fall 2023, academic centers have been gauging the viability of solar investments,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":20205,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nCalifornia\u2019s farmers tap Agrovoltaics on the sidelines of 2024 solar eclipse\u00a0 - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/04\/08\/californias-farmers-tap-agrovoltaics-on-the-sidelines-of-2024-solar-eclipse\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"California\u2019s farmers tap Agrovoltaics on the sidelines of 2024 solar eclipse\u00a0 - 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