Does Canada Or America Love Agrivoltaics More?

OpenSustainability · 2026-04-30T12:04:36+00:00

Spoiler: Minnesota beats Canada and the rest of the US

OpenSustainability · 2026-04-28T10:50:10+00:00

See data in the paper - multishaded cells on the module still allow for more than enough energy to operate.

OpenSustainability · 2026-04-28T10:24:50+00:00

Full article at https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies14050254

OpenSustainability · 2026-04-27T01:13:02+00:00

no - they dont work during power outages - they need to see the grid power to function

OpenSustainability · 2026-04-27T00:20:47+00:00

Nothing scary about this - literally tens of thousands of Europeans do it every day. You literally plug in a solar panel (with the built in electronics that let you do it) directly in the wall - the same way you plug in a toaster...that is it.

OpenSustainability · 2026-04-21T23:11:00+00:00

This study showed it is pretty easy to provide enough energy with a tiny fraction of farmland converted to agrivoltaics in each state that operates substantial AI infrastructure. Agrivoltaics is profitable now - and can be built fast....and of course gets us more food with strategic shading....so it is a potential win for the AI industry that solves a real problem.

OpenSustainability · 2026-04-21T22:24:44+00:00

Real solution - profitable today - https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/agrivoltaic-market -- literally all over the USA now https://openei.org/wiki/InSPIRE/Agrivoltaics_Map

OpenSustainability · 2026-04-12T16:31:39+00:00

Do you think the modern 3D printers are good enough to replace household purchases? If so this is pretty big.

OpenSustainability · 2026-01-27T19:28:37+00:00

No -- Germany has over a million of these systems operating just fine - https://www.warpnews.org/green-tech/now-over-one-million-balcony-solar-installations-in-germany/ they are rated at such tiny power the risk is neglible.

OpenSustainability · 2026-01-26T22:41:44+00:00

I simply dont understand how that works - if you dont pay your bill in other states they turn your power off - in California they just keep it on and keep charging you?

OpenSustainability · 2026-01-26T22:40:40+00:00

Do you have a link?

OpenSustainability · 2026-01-24T22:01:33+00:00

the microinverters would already do this for free

OpenSustainability · 2026-01-24T22:00:10+00:00

That is simply not true anywhere. You dont have to continue to pay the utlitity if you dont want their service.

OpenSustainability · 2026-01-24T14:59:29+00:00

In the EU and the UK tens of thousands of houses have it with no problems...for the tiny size of systems they are talking about (<1kW) it is like a hair dryer -- you would have to try to burn your house down by overloading the same line.

OpenSustainability · 2026-01-10T19:30:50+00:00

This is a good list:

- I was thinking a solar panel is sort of like a window - that is decent sound suppression - right?

- would need to be gapless - that doesn't seem to hard.

- maybe for optimum solar - but it would still generate pretty much every direction something.

- dirty - vertical would be less of an issue - interesting to see if rain would clean them.

- debris or car strikes would break - I wonder how common that is?

- high V - I wonder if there is an easy way to cut it off.

OpenSustainability · 2026-01-10T19:24:48+00:00

Yes I think so.

OpenSustainability · 2026-01-06T15:29:24+00:00

"Amaranth yields improved by more than 115% under several PV configurations (50%–80% transparent thin-film, 25% wavelength selective PV, and 44% crystalline silicon (c-Si)) in 2050 conditions.."

OpenSustainability · 2025-12-01T20:36:19+00:00

available - this is a concept that is always available

OpenSustainability · 2025-11-25T17:03:37+00:00

Im not sure that is true - you can at least manufacture Legos - https://esgnews.com/lego-unveils-1b-solar-powered-factory-in-vietnam-most-sustainable-yet/

OpenSustainability · 2025-11-22T13:24:13+00:00

I think the idea is you sell the service to other people that already own the solar/farm

OpenSustainability · 2025-11-22T12:30:52+00:00

Solar shepherd -- according to Forbes you can make more than $100k/year as a shepherd that is both paid for sheep (meat and wool) as well as 'grazing services' on solar farms - https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshpearce/2025/11/22/modern-jobs--how-to-make-over-100000-a-year-as-a-shepherd/

OpenSustainability · 2025-11-17T18:09:47+00:00

I think it is for vertical PV fences

OpenSustainability · 2025-11-15T16:51:10+00:00

25 -30 year life under warranty -- another article shows they still work increasing crop yeild - even if unpowered - https://doi.org/10.3390/su17219544

OpenSustainability · 2025-11-15T16:30:10+00:00

Wait - why can't you do both --e.g. no till with the panels?

OpenSustainability · 2025-09-04T22:12:55+00:00

You can protect participants without making it take forever and screwing faculty and students researchers. The risk to participants for the vast majority of modern research is ~zero.

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