An additional source of income through the installation of photovoltaic systems, without sacrificing “high productivity land,” is provided for in a draft law of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, which is open for public consultation until Friday, January 19.
Specifically, Article 33 of this draft law allows for energy production from photovoltaic stations with installed capacity of up to one megawatt (1 MW) for Producer Groups, on agricultural land characterized as high productivity land, as well as in areas of the territory that have already been designated as high productivity agricultural land.
“With the provision in our Ministry’s draft law regarding agricultural photovoltaic systems, we aim for the dual use of land with the simultaneous coexistence of crops and renewable energy installations on high productivity land,” said the Minister of Rural Development and Food, Lefteris Avgenakis, to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency.
For the acceptance of applications for the issuance of a final connection offer submitted to the competent administrator for the installation of photovoltaic stations with installed capacity less than or equal to one megawatt (1 MW), the exercise of agricultural activity will be required.
Within two months after the draft law is passed, a Joint Ministerial Decision of the Ministries of Rural Development and Food and Environment and Energy is expected to be issued, which, among other things, will determine the conditions and procedures for the installation of stations, the power of photovoltaic stations allowed to be installed on high productivity agricultural land in each Regional Unit, which crops will be allowed, the categories of applicants, and the subsidy rates.
“The types, crops, and conditions of their cultivation will be indicated by a study. With a joint decision of ours with the Minister of Environment and Energy, Theodoros Skylakakis, the categories of applicants, the details, conditions, and procedures for the installation of photovoltaic stations and the exercise of agricultural activity will be determined,” said Mr. Avgenakis.
Any intervention on these lands will only be allowed for reasons that serve the agricultural character of agricultural exploitation or the installation of RES stations and will always be carried out under the terms and conditions also defined by a joint decision of the two ministries.
According to the Minister of Rural Development and Food, the aim of this regulation is “to ensure both the sustainability of the farms and the food security of the country. We give producers the opportunity to fully exploit their land and ultimately contribute decisively to the effort to reduce production costs, which is the ultimate goal for all of us.”
The “triple” role of agricultural photovoltaics
The increasing installation of photovoltaic systems on land has resulted in the loss of valuable land that farmers could use to produce agricultural products.
This practice has been known in foreign countries for many years, with the main examples being Germany, Italy, and even distant Japan.
“The role of agricultural photovoltaics is threefold,” said Kostas Spanoulis, president of the Panhellenic Association of Agricultural Photovoltaics (PAAF), to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency.
According to him, the first role is not to lose a bit of high productivity land and to cultivate dynamic crops underneath.
The second role is to help ensure the country’s food coverage since the cultivated areas will not be reduced by the installations.
The third reason is to increase the income of producers if they choose to install photovoltaics. “To provide an additional income to the producer, either by zeroing the cost of electricity, through offsetting or by selling the electricity,” said Mr. Spanoulis, noting that “the cost of energy in some agricultural farms reaches up to 30% of the production cost.”
The height of agricultural photovoltaics is expected to start from 2.10 meters and in some cases reach up to six meters in height.
According to initial estimates, under agricultural photovoltaics, vineyards, vegetables, fruit trees, etc., can be cultivated, among other things.
Finally, he calls for the installation of agricultural photovoltaics to be added to European programs and Improvement Plans and notes that the subsidy rates to be granted should be high so that producers in our country can cover their installation expenses.
Otherwise, Mr. Spanoulis “requests” the definition of a higher price for the sale of electricity to the grid.