Konya agrivoltaic pilot reports 7% higher buckwheat yield

What happened

A 60 kW pilot agrivoltaic project on the Konya Plain has delivered its first crop harvest. The project was developed by Solar3GW with Middle East Technical University’s Solar Energy Research and Application Centre and the General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies.

Sugar beet and buckwheat were planted beneath the solar modules. Buckwheat was harvested first. Solar3GW said the initial comparison with a control area found that buckwheat productivity was 7% higher, while water consumption was 20% lower.

The project tests the use of the same land for agriculture and photovoltaic power production. Talat Özden, coordinator of the Integrated Photovoltaic Technologies Unit at METU-GÜNAM, said system design, crop selection and local climate conditions will determine the results.

Why it matters

The findings are relevant to Turkish producers facing higher irrigation and energy costs, as well as drought, heat and changing rainfall patterns. Lower water demand could be particularly significant in areas under water stress, although the reported results are preliminary and relate to the Konya pilot.

For farmers, agrivoltaics could add electricity income alongside agricultural revenue without taking land out of crop production. Solar3GW chair Yusuf Bahadır Turhan said income outcomes would vary by crop and local market conditions.

The approach also carries higher upfront costs. Solar3GW estimates that supporting structures can lift costs by 30–40%. It put a conventional solar plant at about US$400,000 per MW, compared with US$550,000–560,000 per MW for an agrivoltaic installation. The organisation estimates a payback period of eight to 10 years.

Background

Under current Turkish rules, solar installations on farmland are permitted for self-consumption and are limited to 1% of agricultural land, according to Solar3GW. The organisation estimates that using 1% of farmland for designated agrivoltaic renewable energy resource areas could provide about 190 GW of capacity, based on improving technologies.

The Konya trial is intended to assess whether solar installations can support, rather than displace, agricultural activity. Further crop and site-specific evidence will be needed before the early buckwheat results can be applied more widely.