Posted on Jan 22, 2022
Agrivoltaics Could Change Farming As We Know It
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Food is one of our most basic needs. As the population of the world grows, we’re going to need to grow more of it within the same amount of space. The United Nations estimates the world’s population will grow by 2 billion people between now and 2050.
Access to fresh food is already a problem in many countries, and will likely get worse with more mouths to feed. This is where the concept of agrivoltaics could create a massive change. This farming setup mixes water, energy, and plant growth all in one space. Solar panels collect energy from the sun’s rays; underneath those panels is where the plants grow. The setup takes less water than the traditional way of farming, all-in-all creating a more sustainable way to grow food and create energy.
Joining Ira to talk about the promise of agrivoltaics is Dr. Chad Higgins, associate professor of biological and ecological engineering at Oregon State University, in Corvallis, Oregon.
Access to fresh food is already a problem in many countries, and will likely get worse with more mouths to feed. This is where the concept of agrivoltaics could create a massive change. This farming setup mixes water, energy, and plant growth all in one space. Solar panels collect energy from the sun’s rays; underneath those panels is where the plants grow. The setup takes less water than the traditional way of farming, all-in-all creating a more sustainable way to grow food and create energy.
Joining Ira to talk about the promise of agrivoltaics is Dr. Chad Higgins, associate professor of biological and ecological engineering at Oregon State University, in Corvallis, Oregon.
Agrivoltaics Could Change Farming As We Know It
Posted from sciencefriday.com
Farming
Food/Chow
Agriculture
Energy
Oregon State University
Posted >1 y ago
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How high above the ground are these solar panels? Surely we aren't returning to the days when I was a kid. We would go out to the fields with our gunny sacks to pick beans, etc. We were paid 10c a gunny sack.
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I wrote a high school report about changes in agriculture that were needed to feed the world back in the 60s. Things like this obviously weren't even on the horizon then, but the point is that this isn't a new issue and innovation such as this is probably what is needed to make any progress.
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