Transparent photovoltaic solar panels on soft fruit polytunnels to boost economic, environmental, and efficiency benefits, empowering growers with sustainable energy solutions.
The challenge
Polytunnels are an established solution to soft fruit growth, providing a protected and nourishing environment for plants to thrive. While offering these valuable benefits to growers, polytunnels often require a constant power source to run irrigation systems and monitoring technology, which adds a further cost to growers.
While some have turned to solar power as a sustainable source of energy to tackle this issue, existing solutions mean rows of panels taking up valuable space between crops or in open or grazing land.
Avoiding this issue by housing these panels above and around the polytunnels themselves is not always feasible, due to their rigid silicon construction, opaque design, and the fact that polytunnels flex and move according to the weather – causing breakages. A new and more adaptable solution would therefore be a gamechanger for growers.
The Electric Berry solution
Headed up by developer and manufacturer Polysolar, the Electric Berry project focuses on the potential of transparent photovoltaic (PV) solar panels installed on soft fruit polytunnels. These panels aim to support carbon reduction, income diversification and effective farm management design among growers.
The project is a collaboration between Polysolar, a soft fruit grower, and researchers, alongside a network of contacts in growth-house suppliers, robotics, biotechnology and state-of-the-art PV technologists.
Project scope
Following the completion of a feasibility study that developed protocols for taking forward the underlying concept, this project focuses on testing the effects of installing the panels onto existing polytunnel structures, as well as demonstrating the range of potential benefits to growers.
Under the project, which runs from June 2023 to May 2025, novel PV solar panels will be retrofitted to soft fruit polytunnel structures in contrasting patterns. Their impact will then be assessed on areas such as crop photosynthesis, nutrients, biomass and temperature reduction due to shading, as well as the overall yield benefits that polytunnel growth brings.
Crucially, the financial benefits of the solar power will be assessed and projected to inform wider on-farm strategy. This work will ascertain not only the cost benefits of this alternative electricity source, but also the opportunity to power the polytunnel irrigation, heating and lighting requirements. Beyond this, the potential for this off-grid energy to power wider farm equipment, automation and robotics will be analysed to showcase the financial opportunity the technology brings for farmers with different priorities and cost pressures.
Speaking about their focus, Martyn Rush, R&D Manager at Polysolar, said:
“The project will look to identify viable ways to build resilience on farms, both in terms of power generation and crop production. Versatility, self-sufficiency and productivity are all key aspects of a successful modern farming approach, and we want to show how this new opportunity for solar power fits into this strategy.“
“Alongside the logistical and financial side, it’s also essential that we demonstrate that crops are not affected by the system. That’s why the project will include the development of protocols for chemical and nutritional testing of the plants, as well as yield and quality measurements. The guidance from the Farming Innovation Programme has been valuable for helping us work towards these different aims simultaneously, while also giving us the funding to progress further with our demonstration and analysis work.”
What’s next?
Following successful demonstration from this project and utilising the knowledge gained from the previous feasibility study work, the aim will now be to extend beyond strawberries into raspberries and other soft fruit, using the array of data gathered to demonstrate the suitability of the PV panel system for a range of polytunnel-grown fruit.
Once commercially ready, the Electric Berry product package can be supported by expert training on its set up and use, as well as ongoing consultancy for optimising the power opportunity and design of the system. This will include the benefits of different panel layouts and systems, as well as the different opportunities for farmers in terms of utilising the power in a way that most benefits their other crops and their more strategic plans.
It’s all part of a wider aim of efficiency, as Martyn added:
“Underpinning everything is our aim to give farmers and growers back greater control. The panel system not only allows them to manage their power requirements and costs, but also maximises the use of on-farm space through their installation and design – rather than using field space for panel placement. This efficient approach to installation also has an environmental benefit by helping nature do its own work across other parts of the farm around the natural eco-system and effective carbon storage, unimpacted by further new buildings and technology.”
Looking at the growing impact of on-farm technology, Marion Regan, Managing Director at Hugh Lowe Farms, added:
“We are increasingly switching to electric power for key machinery, such as irrigation pumps, and using electric vehicles to transport fruit, tend to the plants, and deliver crop protection. These include robots as we look to automate berry production and harvest. Being able to generate solar power in situ means that off grid and more remote sites can be cropped usefully, and using the tunnel itself as our solar farm means we are getting dual use from the land, providing there is no adverse effect on the crop.”
