German agri-photovoltaic potential far surpasses 2040 solar targets — report
Clean Energy Wire
Some 500 gigawatts (GW) of peak solar power capacity could be installed on Germany’s agricultural land — 100 GW over the country’s 2040 photovoltaic expansion targets, according to a report from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems.
The report uses geographic data to identify suitable locations for farming combined with solar power generation, also known as agri-photovoltaics or agri-PV. It is the first of its kind in Germany to consider all types of agricultural land, said Fraunhofer ISE. The researchers also weighed legal, political, economic, and agricultural factors to locate promising sites, looking for characteristics such as solar radiation, proximity to grid connection points or permanent crops such as fruit or berries, which go well with solar systems.
The report found that a lack of grid connection was a limiting factor in many areas and that Bavaria, Bremen and Lower Saxony had the highest agri-PV potential.
In 2024, a report by researchers from the Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH Aachen University found the potential for agri-PV in Germany surpasses the potential of other unconventional solar technologies, such as floating PV or facilities covering parking lots. It could “make a major contribution to Germany’s target of 400 GW(p) of PV for achieving greenhouse gas neutrality in 2045,” wrote the researchers. They noted the use of solar power on parking lots, water bodies or agricultural areas reduces land use conflicts by co-using land.
