German pilot project combines solar power and fruit growing

Record ID: 1681487

  • Title: German pilot project combines solar power and fruit growing
  • Date: 18th July 2022
  • Summary: GELSDORF, GERMANY (JULY 15, 2022) (REUTERS) APPLE HANGING ON A TREE, WHICH IS GROWING UNDER AN AGRI-PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM (AGRI-PV SYSTEM) APPLE TREES UNDER AGRI-PV SYSTEM VARIOUS OF SUN SHINING THROUGH SOLAR MODULE DRONE IMAGES OF THE AGRI-PV SYSTEM (SOUNDBITE) (German) ORGANIC FRUIT FARMER, CHRISTIAN NACHTWEY, SAYING: "We are under an agri-photovoltaic plant here. This is
  • Embargoed: 1st August 2022 13:51
  • Keywords: agriculture fruit orchards photovoltaik solar panels solar power
  • Location: GELSDORF, GERMANY
  • City: GELSDORF, GERMANY
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Climate Adaptation and Solution,Climate Change,Environment,Europe,General News
  • Reuters ID: LVA001254918072022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Growing organic apples while producing green electricity at the same time - a German pilot project looks into the dual use of solar power and fruit growing.
    Since 2020 a research facility has been running in Gelsdorf in southern Germany, where organic fruit farmer Christian Nachtwey looks after the fruit orchards with solar panels on top. The Fraunhofer Institute is involved in the research, which is conducted on various apple varieties to find out how the solar panels protect the fruit crop from the effects of weather such as frost, hail, or sunburn.
    "We hope that with the agri-pv systems we can actually kill two birds with one stone. On the one hand, we can sustainably produce high-quality fruit under the same conditions as we do now with the standard hail net, and at the same time we have the protective function of the agri-photovoltaic system and can also produce green electricity in addition," Juergen Zimmer from the Rhineland-Palatinate agricultural authority said.
    One advantage of the agri-pv system is that no agricultural land would be lost like with usual ground-mounted photovoltaic systems, Zimmer added. "And here we can do it in dual use. The agricultural land remains in use, and in addition, we can produce green electricity."
    The solar power generated could be used to power an electric tractor, said organic fruit grower Christian Nachtwey.
    The solar modules are constructed in such a way that sufficient sunlight is allowed to pass through so that the apples can grow and ripen. "We can achieve crop protection, a cultivation space that can be used for years, if not decades," explained Nachtwey. This is what sustainability in fruit growing looks like.
    (Production: Andreas Kranz, Ulrike Heil)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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