Agrivoltaic systems are photovoltaic (PV) technologies in which PV panels are mounted at a sufficient height from the ground to enable conventional cultivation practices underneath.

Agrivoltaic systems not only preserve agricultural land, but also benefit crop production by improving water use efficiency and reducing water stress.

The conditions of sunlight, temperature, humidity and wind that make cropland good for agriculture also maximize solar panel efficiency.

UISOLAR has established many solar farm projects in Japan.

(Following Source: WeChat public account "PV JAPAN BRIDGE" ID: PVJapanBridge)

The agricultural production corporation Tomato Land Iwaki (located in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture) uses the cultivation technology of the Netherlands, an advanced agricultural country, to achieve high-quality and stable production of agricultural products in a glass greenhouse. The annual output is about 900 tons of tomatoes, 30 tons of raw figs, 20 tons of chili powder, 20 tons of strawberries, etc.

In terms of sales, Tomato Land Iwaki focuses on market shipments and develops its own routes. At present, about half of them are turning to direct sales and online shopping.

In addition to cutting-edge automation and cutting-edge technology used to increase production, Tomato Land Iwaki introduced agricultural-type solar power generation equipment in June 2012. Seven sets of Fujipream tracking support system silicon crystal solar panels totaling 18.375kW were installed, and 260 blueberry seedlings of 15 varieties were planted under the support.

Agricultural solar power generation is to set up columns on the farmland, install photovoltaic power generation equipment in the upper space, and realize the sunlight sharing between agricultural production and power generation. In addition to the income from the sale of crops, farmers can also use the income from the sale of electricity and private power generation to further improve agricultural management.

Fujipream, Toray Engineering, TMEIC, etc. provide technical support

Tomato Land Iwaki introduced agricultural solar power to Iwaki City through Fujipream after the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011. Since the founder is a farmer, Fujipream has focused on balancing solar power generation and agricultural solar energy sharing (agricultural solar power generation business) from the beginning of its entry into solar panel manufacturing, and has been engaged in demonstration experiments. In addition to parking lots, Fujipream’s self-developed solar tracking type The panel of the support system also proposes agricultural applications.

When donating solar power equipment, Fujipream will provide it to agricultural production companies in Iwaki City for free, and use it to power large-scale agricultural facilities and produce agricultural products where the equipment is installed.

As a candidate for installation, the city proposed a central wholesale market composed of four groups, to conduct large-scale facility gardening of more than 1 hectare in the city, and to negotiate with each group to investigate the location of the installation. The installation work started in April 2012 and was completed in June of the same year.

Fixed and tracking solar panels and tracking support systems are also manufactured by Fujipream, which also provides EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) services for the entire power plant. The power conditioner (PCS) used is manufactured by Toshiba Mitsubishi Electric Industrial Systems (TMEIC), and the power conditioner will be used for fixed and tracking types. The construction work was handed over to Toray Engineering (Chuo-ku, Tokyo).

The total cost of the project, including the fixed type and the follow-up type, is approximately 400 million yen. The fixed solar power generation business has been included in the subsidy project by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries "Regional Return Renewable Energy Early Demonstration Construction Project", and part of the profits will be used for regional return type businesses. Specifically, 5% of electricity sales revenue will be used to improve the training environment of Iwaki Agricultural High School in Fukushima Prefecture.

The tracking device was built by Tomato Land Iwaki himself with a loan from a financial institution.

If agricultural solar power is on the right track, a new type of agriculture with "agricultural income" + "electricity sales income" will become possible. In addition to local production and local consumption of energy, if the income from electricity sales is reinvested in regional revitalization, it may become a driving force for the creation of new industries.