Opportunities for combining farming and solar in Ireland

Last week, members of the Lightsource bp team travelled to Dublin to meet with a broad range of representatives from the Irish government, for an informal session to discuss the potential for combining solar and agriculture in Ireland, referred to generally as “agrivoltaics” or “AgriPV”.

The aim of the session, hosted by Declan Keiley, Head of Business Development for UK & Ireland, and Emilien Simonot, Head of Agrivoltaics for EMEA, was to share our unique perspective on the topic, to inform the audience on the opportunities of AgriPV, and to advocate on the policy changes needed to enable real change.

Sessions such as this make up a key part of the way Lightsource bp interacts with governments and policy makers, driving the solar industry forward from jurisdiction to jurisdiction with open and transparent conversation.

We kicked off the session with a whistle-stop tour of the development process in Ireland, covering land assembly, the planning system and grid connection, highlighting the challenges and opportunities in the current structure, and presenting a few of our projects as case studies.

Emilien then took the stage and provided an engaging and fascinating deep dive into the details of AgriPV from an industry and Lightsource bp perspective, covering technology, approaches and global case studies, as well as outlining the opportunities for AgriPV in the Irish market. The presentation prompted lively discussion on a wide range of topics, including soil quality, farm technology compatibility, tax relief, Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), climate plans and more.

With the Planning and Development Act 2024 on the horizon and future conversations on the table, this roundtable is an important platform to further support the solar agenda. By engaging with decision-makers, we are able to present Lightsource bp and the industry position and push the status quo, inform about best practices and technology developments and accelerate the energy transition through sustainable solutions.

To find out more about how Lightsource bp solar projects can work for farmers, click here.