CASE STUDY AgrIVoltAIcs: tHE dUAl UsE of tHE lAnd A synergy between photovoltaics and agriculture agrivoltaics was originally conceived by German scientists in 1981, but the concept did not become popular until the last decade. The shade from the panels cast on the crops partly affects their productivity, since the crops now receive slightly less light, but energy production compensates for this loss. Le Greenhouse, an agri-tech startup The application of agrivoltaics in Italy, started, for example, in 2011 with cedar tree groves in the Tyrrhenian and Ionian coast of the Cosenza province. After an experience in the development of photovoltaic energy, two agricultural companies, Lao Greenhouse and Sybaris Greenhouse, decided to unite their expertise and build photovoltaic greenhouses to reduce greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere, while carrying out agricultural activity. Le Greenhouse became the rst Consortium of companies specialised in cultivation in agrophotovoltaic environments. The success of the experiment Thanks to photovoltaic greenhouses, Le Greenhouse have been able to: How agrivoltaics works As cedar trees grow well in light shade, the Consortium s goal was to combine the need for photovoltaic shading structures with energy production. Therefore, they equipped their plant with xed support systems to elevate some solar panels a few metres above the groves. This allowed farm machinery access to the crops below, while using the same area of land to obtain both solar energy and agricultural products. 7 Write a list of the possible main disadvantages of this high-tech farming application. preserve a thousand-year-old tradition for the cultivation of the Calabrian cedar , innovating it and making it sustainable; guarantee high crop quality, eliminating production scrap; use a reduced amount of water; reduce the carbon footprint of the farm thanks to the local and simultaneous production of clean energy ; increase their economic value, as the electricity generated by solar panels has improved land-use ef ciency and yields; create job opportunities in places with a strong tendency for youth emigration. The future In the future, solar panels might be developed using semi-transparent polymers that allow the wavelengths of sunlight needed for photosynthesis to pass through and absorb the rest to generate energy. In the following years, the project was replicated in Umbria and later in Sardinia, starting up new enterprises, where cedars, pomp a sarda, lemons, limes, oranges, clementines and veggies are cultivated. This is crucial to achieving many of the Sustainable Development Goals from poverty eradication via advancements in health, education, water supply and industrialisation to mitigating climate change. In particular for SDG 7 Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. Ecology And forEstry 111