{"id":33226,"date":"2023-06-15T08:30:59","date_gmt":"2023-06-15T07:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=33226"},"modified":"2023-06-14T10:34:24","modified_gmt":"2023-06-14T09:34:24","slug":"how-floating-solar-power-can-fight-the-european-drought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/how-floating-solar-power-can-fight-the-european-drought\/33226\/","title":{"rendered":"How agrisolar and floating solar power can fight the European drought"},"content":{"rendered":"
We must turn to solar power to resolve the devastating droughts facing the planet. In the United Nations 2023 Water Development Report<\/a>, co-published with UNESCO, Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, began his foreword by stating: \u201cWater is the lifeblood of humanity. It is vital for survival itself and supports the health, resilience, development, and prosperity of people and planet alike. But humanity is blindly travelling a dangerous path. Vampiric overconsumption and overdevelopment, unsustainable water use, pollution and unchecked global warming are draining humanity\u2019s lifeblood, drop by drop.\u201d<\/p>\n Undoubtedly, the picture the Secretary-General paints is grim. We can no longer ignore the effects of climate change and the imminent water crisis. Heatwaves, droughts, floods, storms \u2013 we are currently stuck in a vicious cycle where our water supplies are at risk because of climate change and overconsumption.<\/p>\n Richard Connor, the report\u2019s lead author, has stated that 3.5 billion people, or 10% of the global population, \u201ccurrently live in areas of high or critical water stress<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n The EU Joint Research Centre\u2019s (JRC) latest report on droughts in Europe predicts<\/a> that summer 2023 will be even drier than last year. The situation in Spain, northern Italy, and France particularly raises \u201cconcerns for water supply for human use, agriculture, and energy production.\u201d<\/p>\n Extreme drought conditions are already being seen in regions in Southern Spain<\/a>, as Spain\u2019s significant reservoir capacity is at record low levels, and canals are running dry. With the country\u2019s water reserves 50% below capacity<\/a>, and drought affecting 80% of the Spanish countryside<\/a>, Spain is facing a national emergency.<\/p>\n By finding new models of using, reusing, and conserving water; this is where Agrisolar and floating solar power comes in.<\/p>\n Agrisolar is a rapidly expanding sector with incredible potential. It effectively brings together two major sectors of our society and economy: agriculture and energy. Land is used for both agricultural production, and for photovoltaic (PV) power generation. With agriculture being particularly vulnerable to climate change, solar technologies can be seamlessly integrated into nature-positive solar sites, including dual land-use project types like onshore floating PV and Agri-PV.<\/p>\n Agrisolar offers a critical solution to minimising water needs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, regenerating land, deploying additional solar capacity and, overall, promoting more sustainable agricultural practices. In turn, we can avoid overconsuming water.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s look at Akuo\u2019s Agri-PV Bellegrade apricot orchard<\/a> located in the Occitania Region in France. A 2 MW solar power system is combining solar PV power generation with organic apricot farming and beekeeping. The solar panels over the apricot trees generate an increasingly valuable commodity: shade. The value is immediately seen in water use. A staggering 70% of the water is saved compared to a classic apricot farm.<\/p>\n The potential for Agrisolar in the European Union (EU) is immense. If solar were deployed on only 1% of Europe\u2019s arable land, its technical capacity would amount to over 900 GW. This is more than six times the current installed PV capacity in the EU. Agrisolar strengthens the EU\u2019s resilience to climate change, and other shocks and stresses, including ongoing water shortages. Ultimately, Agrisolar solutions are effective climate mitigation tools which we need to deploy.<\/p>\n Other Agrisolar projects contribute to regenerating degraded land, making it into agricultural land. The RES Group\u2019s regeneration project in Haute-Garonne, France, is a prime example of this. Crops which previously had a poor agricultural performance are now flourishing as a part of a poultry farm. This is important when we think of the damage that can be done by a drought\u2019s most paradoxical consequence: a flood. Droughts damage soil\u2019s ability to properly absorb and release water. When the rains do come, this means flash flooding. Agrisolar projects like the one in Haute-Garonne can act as key tools to rehabilitate damaged soils. We share more examples in our Agrisolar: Best Practices Guideline, Vol. 1.<\/a><\/p>\n Floating solar power offers further relief. Applied directly on the surface of artificial water bodies, like reservoirs, floating solar is taking off across Europe. EDP, the main Portuguese utility company, has built the largest floating solar park in Europe<\/a> on the Alqueva Reservoir. It consists of 12,000 solar panels, and is the length of four football pitches. These solar panels are directly preventing excessive water evaporation. One 2021 study analysing floating panels on water reservoirs, found that evaporation was reduced by 42%<\/a>. In a win-win situation, floating panels can be up to 10-15% more efficient because of water cooling.<\/p>\nHow can we tackle this problem?<\/h2>\n