A group of 35 French agri-entrepreneurs decided to change their farming practices to accommodate poor groundwater quality and opted for agrophotovoltaics as a way to compensate for lost crop yields.
"For us, agri-PV is first and foremost a collective project," said a farmer in the Landes department of France and vice-president of the French Federation of Agricultural Producers (FPA).
Lamothe also heads the Pujo Arbouts Territoire Agrivoltañsme (PATAV), an association of 35 farmers spread across the six cities of Castandet, Vignau, Maurrin, Hontanx, Pujo-le-Plan and Saint-Gein.
Lamothe explained: "Hydrologists tracked 1,400 hectares of our area and found that groundwater showed concentrations of pesticide metabolites in excess of the regulatory limit of 2 μg/L. This is the result of the heavy use of phytosanitary products and herbicides in corn fields in the past. results of the drug.”
According to Lamothe, the current nature of the land makes it difficult to implement organic farming. “So we opted for an agro-photovoltaic solution, since the water quality was not good, the operator had no other option but to plant new crops, which would make it possible to rebuild biodiversity, but at the same time result in lower productivity. We decided to plant rich Omega-3 plants, which are adapted to our water quality issues and the climate of the region, such as flax, chia, shepherd’s purse, canola and sunflower.” He further explained: “And we will compensate for the productivity gains with the revenue from photovoltaics. decline."
The FFPAT group of entrepreneurs is now working with Green Lighthouse Development (GLHD) on a solar project. The company intends to use a single-sided panel mounted on the tracker, 1.2 meters above the ground, with components separated by 9 meters to allow the harvester arbor to pass under the panel. Lamothe said: "In May, we experienced a high heat and drought, and under the panel that retained the water vapor transpired by the plants, we found that the plants were greener and developed better than the interrow plants. Therefore, we think the payoff will be Higher than our original estimate." Only 700 hectares of the 1,400 hectares in the area will be equipped with solar panels. "Despite the drop in water quality, our goal is indeed to continue farming on our land. This requires several sources of income." Harvesting machinery and production and packaging equipment will also be centralised.
The project also aims to create value for the entire area by paying taxes to the municipality. Currently, these farmers hope to be authorized in early 2023, with financing completed in late 2023 to early 2024, and operational in early 2025. "We're going to have to do 'zero medication' to our crops," Lamothe concluded.