This is the world’s largest agrivoltaic plant – combining land for solar and agriculture. It has 1 GW of solar panels and – yes – it’s in China.
Before the plant was built, the ~100 km² of land was desertified. Alfalfa was initially planted to improve the soil. The perennial flowering plant was then removed while the solar farm was constructed and, once complete, Goji berries were planted underneath the panels.
This helped return goji farming to the region and revived an otherwise dead expanse of desert.
Agrivoltaics brings a number of benefits, whether the land is used for crops or grazing animals. In the case of crops:
For the agriculture:
➡️ Water conservation. The panels reduce evaporation from the soil, reducing water needs for irrigation. This is especially important in arid or drought-prone areas.
➡️ The shade benefits some crops, reducing heat stress and preventing excessive water loss.
For the solar:
➡️ Crops underneath solar panels can reduce the temperature of the panels, stopping them getting so hot that their efficiency drops off.
The goji berry farm has successfully turned a large area of desert into arable land. Vegetation coverage has risen from less than 30% to 85%, the panels have reduced land moisture evaporation by 30-40% and the overall ecosystem has also improved, with a significant increase in the number of small wild animals, like sparrows, hares and pheasants.
On top of that, the farm provides temporary jobs to about 100,000 farmers because the project needs workers to maintain the goji berry shrubs, pick fruits and clean the panels.
And it generates 1.7 TWh of electricity a year ☀️
