Sheffield University project Harvesting the Sun Twice - our partners on projects in Africa....
We hope to work with the University of Sheffield on commercial projects in Kenya once data collection has finished for this first piolet phase. While ground-mounted arrays of solar panels offer several benefits related to clean energy provision, they miss opportunities to deliver livelihood benefits in addition to electricity supply, and in some cases can actually detract from other development goals. For example, ground-mounted arrays remove land from food production, and at a time when crop yields are threatened by a changing climate, increasing populations and insecure land ownership, we cannot risk putting further pressure on land resources.
Agrivoltaic energy systems, however, can combine the delivery of solar electricity, crop production, and rainwater harvesting on the same land area. Instead of being mounted close to the ground like traditional solar power arrays, agrivoltaic systems are constructed several meters high, with gaps between the arrays, enabling crops to be grown underneath.
Here’s the link to an article on our webpage, here’s a Guardian article on the project, and here’s a short video by the World Economic Forum.
Introducing Vertical Farming
The Jones Food Company are World leaders in vertical Farming. Each Vertical Farms costs £10 million or US $12 million.
Each Farm can be powered by Solar PV, collect rainwater and moisture harvesting.
Price parity increases with scale-up - could this be one answer to food shortages in places like Kenya and other famines.
It may be possible to build these Vertical Farms close to our Waste-to-Energy plants and take the waste Carbon Dioxide for use in the Vertical farms. Negotiations are underway with the company.