Shri Bhagwanth Khuba visiting APV Plant Germany

On Friday, 13 May, Hon’ble Minister Shri Khuba, MNRE visited two Agriphotovoltaic power plants in Germany. The dual-use of agricultural land for food production and electricity generation with solar panels offers high land efficiency, generates additional income for farmers and contributes to climate protection with renewable energy. The first project visited, is found in Althegnenberg and is called “Double Harvest” or “Doppelernte”. The solar modules are installed on an area of around 2.2 ha of farmland and are spaced 14 metres apart. 

In contrast to the usual east-west alignment, the PV modules are aligned to the south on a tracking system and are mounted at a height of 2.5 metres on a rotatable shaft with a total height of 4.4 metres. They follow the path of the sun using solar tracking and thus achieve above-average electricity yields. The Agriphotovoltaic plant in Althegnenberg has been connected to the grid since April 2020. 

A second Agriphotovoltaic pilot project was visited at Krinner in Straßkirchen. Here, the delegation was shown how to install screw foundations, which eliminate the need to excavate and place concrete. The AgriPV power plant system by Krinner is currently in the pilot stage but aiming at a global market. Through steel cables, the system is stabilised and does not require high investment in the mounting structure itself. This low cost standardised system shall convince farmers to invest in AgriPV by themselves.