Global hotspots
Other emerging sites for agrivoltaic deployments include India and Europe. India has recently seen a rising penetration of solar energy and has the largest area of irrigated croplands in the world, as well as the second largest area of arable land.
In Europe, agrivoltaic applications have captured the attention of institutions and industry players including TotalEnergies SE. The French oil major last year signed an agreement to develop solutions for agrivoltaic projects and reached a partnership with InVivo Group, a national union of agricultural cooperatives, to accelerate the development of agrivoltaic solutions.
In China’s Yunnan province, the first wholly-owned photovoltaic project by CLP Holdings Limited – Xicun Solar Power Station – successfully integrated the farming of honeysuckle flowers into its operations, transforming what was previously a sandy wasteland into cultivated farmland.
The solar power plant teamed up with farmers to grow honeysuckle flowers – a crop commonly used in Chinese medicine – beneath elevated solar panels, maximising land use, creating jobs for local farmers, and providing the community with clean energy.