Although solar energy is a great source of renewable energy, it has a number of drawbacks that experts continue to try to solve through different methods, such as the revolutionary diamond solar panel. In this case, the implementation of “invisible” panels on a strawberry farm, which has improved their harvests as well as providing renewable energy.
Invisible panels for agriculture: goodbye to clearing fields to generate energy
At Ferme Etchélécu, an agroecological farm located in the town of Sames, in France, a series of innovative technologies are being implemented that combine different methods for sustainable productionThe property, which has been passed down through the family from generation to generation, has evolved in concept to become a benchmark for quality in organic products.
La Ferme Etchélécu covers an area of 3000 square meters of organic and sustainable crops. Jacques and Nathalie Etchélécu, its owners, have taken the farm to a new stage. They have changed production to focus on the production of organic strawberries free of all types of chemicals or artificial ripening processes and have incorporated incredible innovation.
These are the “invisible” solar energy panels that have installed above the strawberry cropsThis technology has allowed them not only to obtain renewable energy for self-consumption, but also to improve the production of their crops. According to the farm owners, their goal is to produce fruits of the highest quality for the gastronomic industry using sustainable methodologies.
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La Ferme Etchéclécu has 15,000 strawberry plants of different varieties. They are grown through careful traditional and sustainable emissions-free agriculture processes. However, after some problems with the weather, the producers decided to look for a solution that would remain faithful to their sustainable and organic vision. It was then that they discovered the invisible panels.
The proposal chosen to prevent future drops in production was that of Insolighta Swiss company that has been specialising in the most efficient solar panels on the market since 2015. Using CSP (Concentrated Solar Power) technology, they offer solar cells capable of improving crop yields while offering an efficiency of over 30%, outperforming the rest of the competition.
With their patented technology, they have managed to create translucent solar panels that concentrate sunlight through a series of mirrors, which reduces the amount of semiconductor material necessary for energy generation. These panels are placed on top of the strawberry crops, attracting the sun’s rays and allowing the excess flow from the photovoltaic process to pass to the plants.
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The owners of Ferme Etchéclécu have been more than enthusiastic with the results obtained after installing these invisible panels on their crops. They have achieved, as they say, two additional months of harvests thanks to this innovative technology.
The system installed by Insolight also allows farmers to recover rainwater and produce electricity for a large part of the farm’s consumption. In addition, the surplus electricity generated by these invisible panels can be sold to the public grid, allowing them to generate extra income.
The farm stands out for selling different varieties of strawberries of the highest quality, without the use of cold roomsagrochemicals or artificial hormones. This means that their fruits are only sold in the peak season during the natural ripening of the strawberries.
Despite the failure of the most ambitious solar energy project in history, this technology continues to make great strides. The proposal of these invisible panels for use in agriculture could revolutionize both agri-food production and the production of electricity free of greenhouse gas emissions.
