An opportunity for agriculture in the Canary Islands

The Canary Islands only have limited agricultural land, which cannot be expanded any further. Agri-PV makes it possible to produce food and clean energy at the same time without consuming additional land.

The climate
The subtropical climate of the Canary Islands presents challenges such as intense sunlight, periods of drought and strong winds. PV modules provide partial shading, which reduces the plants' water consumption and protects sensitive crops from heat stress.

The change
The Canary Islands are heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels. Decentralized solar power production through agri-PV can help to reduce this dependency and make the islands' energy supply more sustainable.

Save water
Water is a scarce resource on the Canary Islands. Due to the partial shading under the modules, less water evaporates from the soil, meaning that less irrigation is required - a decisive advantage for the dry regions of the islands. In combination with new cultivation methods, in our example with hydroponic systems, up to 90% of water can be saved when growing fruit and vegetables.

EU funding
The EU and the Spanish government are increasingly promoting Agri-PV projects. In the Canary Islands, there are various programs to support renewable energies that offer farmers investment grants or tax breaks.

Challenges and solutions
Despite the many advantages, there are some challenges that need to be overcome:

- Acquisition costs:
The initial investment for Agri-PV is higher than for conventional PV systems. However, falling module prices and subsidies are making the technology increasingly profitable.

- Bureaucratic hurdles:
In Spain, there are still some regulatory ambiguities in the implementation of Agri-PV, but legislation is evolving to facilitate the expansion.

- Find suitable cultures:
Agri-PV works particularly well with heat-sensitive crops such as tomatoes, peppers and bananas - all of which are important agricultural products on the Canary Islands.

Conclusion
A great opportunity for Canarian agriculture

Agri-PV offers an innovative way to make agriculture in the Canary Islands more economically and environmentally sustainable. In view of rising energy costs, the need to conserve water and the limited space on the islands, agrivoltaics could be a crucial building block for the future of Canarian agriculture.

Farmers who invest in this technology at an early stage will benefit from lower operating costs, higher yields and a more stable energy supply. With the right political decisions, agrivoltaics could revolutionize the agricultural and energy future of the Canary Islands.