ACTS is part of a team implementing the first agrivoltaic system in East Africa, which is set to pioneer a unique agricultural concept that focuses on co-utilisation of land for agricultural production, solar energy and water harvesting.
The concept has already demonstrated its value for multiple stakeholders in energy, agriculture, water, and microclimate creation. It is exciting, for many stakeholders in arid-and-semi-arid areas, who harvest the solar irradiance in often off-grid areas, use the water harvested for irrigation and animals, produce food beneath the panels, and/or create ‘cooler’ shade for animals.
Other implementing partners include Centre for Research in Energy and Energy Conservation (CREEC), Center for International Forestry Research - World Agroforestry Centre (CIFOR-ICRAF), University of Sheffield, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Latia Farm Kenya and Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT).
The project aims to change the perception on current vs future cost of agrivoltaics, as well as influencing public opinion on the practicality and suitability of this technology in the region. The team has set up demonstration centres in Kenya (in collaboration with Latia Farm) and in Tanzania (together with SAT Tanzania) to show how useful, practical, and viable agrivoltaics systems can be.
The agrivoltaics project team is keen to follow-up on this process towards reframing energy-agriculture system as a single rather than a diversity of problems. The first step is creating networking opportunities, as well as dialogues and formation of community of practice.
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