European Energy innovate new technological solutions

Case: Flakkebjerg Agri-PV

Interplay of energy and agricultural production

At Flakkebjerg Solar Park in Denmark, we are also testing the interplay of solar energy and agricultural production. In collaboration with Aarhus University, Copenhagen University, and Slagelse municipality, and funded by Innovation Fund Denmark, we examine how the crops are affected by the shade of the solar panels, and how the biodiversity is impacted in the areas that are inaccessible to agricultural machinery. At Flakkebjerg, we have also developed a novel hydrauclic system solution, making it possible to raise the panels to their utilisation height, while safely and efficiently installing them closer to the ground. Futhermore, using a tracking system, the panels can also be tilted allowing large, agricultural machinery to run between the structures.

The expected yield of both solar power and crops results in a combined production and benefit of both resources that is larger than in an area fully dedicated to either – and a system that is greater than the sum of its parts.