French Solar Panels For Agriculture Soil Hope Grass

But diverse groundcovers and native grasses with varying soil depths will help stabilize the soil underneath solar panels.

French solar panels for agriculture soil hope grass. The bare ground beneath solar panels near boulder has been planted with grasses and mulched in a test to soften the appearance restore native habitat and protect soil from erosion. Co locating agriculture with solar. They keep the weeds and grass trimmed down in the hard to reach places between and under the solar panels. Nearby beekeepers check on the health of local hives.

They found that the grasses growing in shaded areas under the solar panels were 328 more water efficient and maintained higher soil moisture throughout the heat of summer. The solar projects protect the soil if the farmers want to turn it back into farmland later. And then there are the multiple benefits of allowing natural grazers such as sheep and goats onto the land around the panels. Many solar panels are supported by galvanized steel platforms.

High rates of herbicides frequent mowing and the use of mulches rock or plastic will all have negative impacts on the land from herbicide residues soil compaction and erosion and particles of damaged panels left in the soil resulting in contamination from heavy metals and rare earth elements used in solar panels. Natural grazing practices encourage grass to grow increase soil health and also avoids mowing. Most solar panels have a glass front that protects the pv cell and an aluminum or steel frame. Others press double forked meters into the ground measuring the soil moisture below the solar panels and in open ground.

Combining solar power generation and agriculture offers not only a solution to securing land for pv projects in nations such as the netherlands or japan where soil consumption is becoming an. A trial study in southern france has demonstrated that by reducing the density of the solar panels by half it was still possible to grow lettuces on the land underneath them. Photo by merrill smith. Increasing the value of that land for agriculture in the future.

That steel oxidizes over time and releases zinc into the soil which can be toxic to plants at certain levels. Their research is part of an ongoing study to quantify the benefits of a new approach to solar installations. Gravel and turf grass can create an impervious surface that can increase runoff wash away topsoil and create unwanted flooding or gullies.