solarpunks:Innovative Project Is Growing Crops Beneath Solar Panels in KenyaThe project, officially

solarpunks:

Innovative Project Is Growing Crops Beneath Solar Panels in Kenya

The project, officially called “Harvesting the sun twice,” is designed to assess whether or not agrivoltaic systems could be successfully used in rural East Africa. 

By combining the land dedicated to solar panels with the land dedicated to agriculture, it is possible to avoid some of these pitfalls. Growing plants beneath elevated solar panels protects them from the sun in hot, dry places and helps the soil retain moisture, the University of Sheffield explained. The strategy has worked successfully in Global North countries like France, Germany and the U.S., but has not been tested in the Global South, according to SEI and The Guardian.So far, the results have been promising,  The Guardian reported. 

In Kajiado, cabbages cultivated under 180, 345-watt solar panels were a third larger and healthier than the control group. Eggplants, lettuce and corn also fared better in the panels’ shade.  

This can be applied anywhere. A lot of crops prefer (some) shade to direct sunlight and with years long drought hitting both the US and Europe anything to increase food security is welcome.