Renewables

Swiss Insolight testing translucent solar modules to boost crop yield

insolight-agrivoltaic-solar

Photo: Insolight

Published

July 7, 2021

Country

Comments

comments icon

0

Share

Published:

July 7, 2021

Country:

Comments:

comments icon

0

Share

Swiss solar tech startup Insolight has developed translucent solar modules that can help improve crop yield by adjusting the amount of light that reaches the plants, while using the rest of the sunlight to generate electricity.

Insolight said the agrivoltaic solution, called insolagrin, will be tested in cooperation with energy company Romande Energie and agricultural research firm Agroscope over four years starting this month, when the solar modules will be installed over strawberry and raspberry crops as replacements for protective tunnels.

The insolagrin modules act like a ‘smart’ shade, adjusting the amount of light they let through

The solar modules act like a “smart” shade, adjusting the amount of light they let through and enabling the optimization of plant photosynthesis over the seasons and helping reduce the negative impact of hot summer temperatures on the yield and quality of agricultural products, Insolight said.

A positive outcome of the pilot project could lead to large-scale deployment

The modules, called THEIA (Translucency & High Efficiency in Agrivoltaics), will be tested over a surface area of 165 m2, but positive results could lead to future large-scale deployments.

The pilot project is supported by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (OFEN), according to the press release. Martial Genolet, photovoltaic business manager at Romande Energie, said the replacing existing greenhouses with PV structures would complement rooftop solar deployment, which would speed up the decarbonization process in Switzerland.

Comments (0)

Be the first one to comment on this article.

Enter Your Comment
Please wait... Please fill in the required fields. There seems to be an error, please refresh the page and try again. Your comment has been sent.

Related Articles

croatia zagreb solar public buildings tomasevic

Zagreb on track to reach almost 20 MW of solar on public buildings

24 April 2025 - In 2021, Croatia's capital presented the Sunny Roofs program for the installation of photovoltaic plants with a combined capacity of 50 MW

Constitutional Court Bulgaria exemptions renewables agricultural land

Constitutional Court of Bulgaria annuls exemptions for renewables on agricultural land

24 April 2025 - Investors in agrivoltaics and other renewables on agricultural land face higher expenses and longer procedures as exemptions were scrapped

GWEC Record wind power capacity installed globally in 2024

GWEC: Record wind power capacity was installed globally in 2024

23 April 2025 - New wind turbine installations reached an all-time high 117 GW last year, just above the 2023 level, Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) found

Greece DEPA Commercial contractors PV plants 500 MW

Greece’s DEPA Commercial picks contractors for PV plants of 500 MW

23 April 2025 - Terna and Aktor are about to start building a solar power plant of 400 MW and another 100 MW in Greece for state-owned DEPA Commercial