Iberdrola is making progress in its commitment to preserving biodiversity while rolling out its investments in renewable projects.
Through its PERSEO international start-up programme, Iberdrola has selected projects to identify innovative solutions that promote the coexistence of solar photovoltaic generation plants with activities related to agriculture, livestock farming and horticulture.
Iberdrola will provide the winning companies with technical and financial support to test their solutions, giving them access to the resources needed to develop them (equipment, teams, infrastructure, and co-working areas) in a real-world environment.
If a pilot project is successful, Iberdrola may also offer the participant the opportunity to scale-up the solution with commercial agreements or direct investment in the company through PERSEO.
In response to this challenge, the company received 110 proposals from 32 countries. Iberdrola has selected four winning companies, and will design projects in various locations:
Spanish company EcoEnergias del Guadiana has presented a pilot project to combine tomato cultivation under fixed or retractable structures that support solar panels, making possible to mitigate plant stress during heat waves, save water and improve harvest yields.
The second project, Winesolar, is a collaboration between three Spanish companies Techedge, PVH and Gonzalez Byass (Wine and Spirits with 14 wineries in Spain, Chile, Mexico and 3 distillery).
Winesolar will develop a PV system with an intelligent tracker adapted to generate shadow and protect vineyards.
An artificial intelligent algorithm will control those trackers to adapt them to the physiological needs of the vineyards, and in parallel optimise PV production. Data gathered by the sensors, rolled out in the vineyards to measure humidity, temperature, etc will also feed the algorithm.
In the third project French start-up Ombrea has developed a climate control and regulation system powered by artificial intelligence to protect crops against climate change.
The remote solution, based on solar panels, spreads out and retracts in order to modulates light and shadow according to data collected on-site via sensors. The aim is to protect plants from extreme heat, drought, hail and frost.
In the final project French company Itk is developing a cow behaviour monitoring and analysis platform that aims to enhance time management and improve performance by providing decision-making data on four pillars of productivity: reproduction, nutrition, comfort and health.
Bovine livestock is present in many Iberdrola PV plants and Iberdrola has worked with landowners to develop sustainable cattle management plans, which helps to avoid over-grazing and ensure the protection and development of plant species.
Cattle management on-site also allows for vegetation height control, which reduces fire risk as well as providing nutrients and seeds for the soil, increasing natural biodiversity.