AgriVoltaics is a system that combines agriculture with solar cell technology. At AU Viborg, we have installed solar panels between crops, creating a dual use of the land. The system is a part of the HyPErFarm project, which aims to optimize and test sustainable agriVoltaic business models that combine crop production and energy production using photovoltaic (PV) technology. The project involves multiple stakeholders, including researchers, technology providers, crop producers and consumers. Among other things, the project aims to develop attractive new business models for farmers that will allow continued food production on land used for energy production. 

HyPErFarm now invites you to a mini-seminar where you can meet researchers, farmers and other stakeholders from the project. Here you can learn about the AgriVoltaics concept, farmers' perceptions, commercial potentials and much more.    

In the afternoon, you will have the opportunity to visit the HyperFarm AgriVoltaic system in AU Viborg.     

The mini-seminar and open demo will take place on June 7, 2023 from 9:00 - 15:00. You have the option to attend the mini-seminar in the morning and participate in the open demo in the afternoon or choose to attend only one of the two.

If you are unable to come all the way to AU Viborg, you will be able to participate in the morning program online. You choose how and when you want to participate when you register. You can do that here.     

Program

From 9:00 - 12:30:

• Welcome to Aarhus University - Uffe Jørgensen, Dept. of Agroecology, Aarhus University
• The HyPErFarm project in short - Wouter Merckx, KU Leuven
• The concept of Agrivoltaics - Miriam Godinez Chavez, Frauenhofer Inst. for Solar Energy Systems ISE
• Crop performance in Agrivoltaic systems - results from the Belgian pioneers, Thomas Reher, KU Leuven
• Belgian farmer's perceptions of agrivoltaics - Tom Schaeken, Boerenbond
• Development of a quickscan agrivoltaics webtool - Cas Lavaert, KU Leuven
• What do people think, fear & hope for concerning agrivoltaics? - Gabriele Torma, AU Dept. of Management, Aarhus University
• How I changed my plastic wind shelter into a PV-shelter - Claus Hunsballe, Hunsballe Grønt
• How I planted 5 ha of berry bushes in between PV panels - Ole Green, Green Agro
• The commercial potentials of agrivoltaics - European Energy
• The potentials of photovoltaic in Central Denmark Region versus the rest of Europe - Marta Victoria & Kamran Ali Khan Niazi, Dept. of Mechanical and Production Engineering, Aarhus University
• The set-up of the AU demo-platform for agrivoltaic research and first results on microclimatic impacts - Johannes Wilhelmus Maria Pullens, Dept. of Agroecology, Aarhus University

From 13:00 - 15:00 - Field visit, open demo and lunch.

You can find the invitation as a PDF here.