8 ms·

Hops for beer flourish under solar panels

OJFord 3y ago
Breaking news, some plants are ok in (nevermind prefer) shade? Hops can be climbers, i.e. inherently companion to some shade-providing plant/tree.
- The_Blade 3y ago
  I just learned hops are named exactly for that, jumping on plants and sheep and the town crier or whatever. A Germany / England thing from the very early Crusader Kings timeframe. English Germanic words are so much shorter and straightforward then all our Romance and tech piffle. :)
  - 2-718-281-828 3y ago
    interesting theory but a google search for etymology of hop or Hopfen is not conclusive and possible etymological threads do not lead to anything related to "jumping" or to hop / hüpfen.
barathr 3y ago
Agrivoltaics in general make a lot of sense, especially in mid to lower latitude regions. During peak summer in direct sun the temperatures now are often hotter than is ideal for optimal photosynthesis, and this problem will get worse as the planet continues to warm. Solar panels can soak up those photons on peak summer days -- when there's high AC demand, among other things. (There's also another advantage -- the panels will keep working even in the winter on lands that are fallow in the winter.)
- r00fus 3y ago
  Not to mention with climate change and increased summer temps (like we're suffering now in the northern hemisphere) shading may be required for optimal crop growth.
- ianburrell 3y ago
  Also, solar panels can be spread out more to let some light through. That uses more space, but land can be cheap. And that could let other uses like grazing continue making more land available overall.
  - pfdietz 3y ago
    If the solar panels are tilted to optimize winter production, then during the summer much of the sun will strike the ground between the rows of panels.
- lovemenot 3y ago
  PV cells lose efficiency as temperatures increase. Having irrigated crops below should reduce air temp around the cells, slightly improving their power yield.
  - barathr 3y ago
    Yup, this is a mutual benefit -- better PV efficiency and better crop yield.
- paiute 3y ago
  Wait what??? So 1-2 degrees average is enough to be past peak photosynthesis temperatures? And putting black solar panels is going to bring that back into optimal range? I can’t see any of that being close to factual. Crops under panels could make a lot of sense but not for any of what you said. solar panels raise the localized temp. Solar panels probably keep the area warmer when the sun is down(heat island effect). They also provide shade. Those things could be good or bad for the crop depending on the crop and the region. It’s hot today, I’m going to open the freezer door to cool the house.
  - dieselgate 3y ago
    At the very least it would be helpful to use a temperature unit when mentioning degrees.
  - adrian_b 3y ago
    Direct solar light is more than any plant can handle, but the plants are adapted to this, which is why the terrestrial plants are green, instead of being black, in order to reflect a large part of the solar light to avoid overheating, even if this reduces the amount of captured energy. On the other hand the oceans are dominated by diatoms and brown algae, which absorb a much greater part of the solar light. There are many plants which are adapted to live in shadows and which would grow well under solar panels, but I do not know if there are many useful crops among them.
    - kadoban 3y ago
      > Direct solar light is more than any plant can handle, but the plants are adapted to this, which is why the terrestrial plants are green, instead of being black, in order to reflect a large part of the solar light to avoid overheating, even if this reduces the amount of captured energy. From what I've read, it's more nuanced/complicated than that. It depends on details of how photosynthesis works rather than just being a simple heat effect. https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-are-plants-green-to-reduce-the-noise-in-photosynthesis-20200730/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-are-plants-green-to-reduc...
sieabahlpark 3y ago
[dead]
pstuart 3y ago
I expect this trend to grow significantly.
jerrysievert 3y ago
my first year of hop growth was fantastic, the temperatures were a bit lower during the early summer than they are this year. my second year (this year), the growth is way down and a large percentage of my hops are ready to be picked (about 2 months early). it will be nice to enjoy fresh hop beer early this year, but I haven't enjoyed the weather that has brought it to us, and not enjoying such a lower yield than last year.
- msandford 3y ago
  You might look at what AEA has to offer. They have a lot of experience with helping plants perform at peak photosynthesis even if the environmental conditions aren't ideal. www.advancingecoagriculture.com
Mizza 3y ago
I can think of some other equally popular but far more profitable plants in Cannabaceae family, I wonder if they enjoy the same conditions.
- DropInIn 3y ago
  If you're referring to what I think you're referring to, No. Those love direct sun and thrive in heat...
  - fullspectrumdev 3y ago
    There are a bunch of very nice strains adapted for lower light conditions though (growing in the northern latitudes).
    - DropInIn 3y ago
      Oh for sure and there's Ruderalis (nature to BC/Canada) crosses which will effectively grow to a fixed and uniform height after autoflowering regardless of light cycle.
gpm 3y ago
On the one hand, crops under solar panels lets the land do double purpose, at least if the alternative as some sort of shade structure. On the other hand, you've increased the cost of growing the crops, because you need to work around the solar panel structure (which is much beefier than an equivalent shade structure). You've also increased the cost of installing and maintaining the solar panels, because you need to do so at a reasonable height, without damaging the crops, at a relatively low density dictated by the crops. If land is expensive this makes sense, if land is cheap this doesn't... I wonder how often it's actually worth it.
- bad_alloc 3y ago
  Hops already need tall poles with ropes in between to grow, so they use existing infrastructure in this case. Plus the machines are already built for it :) https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/ernten-des-hopfens-mit-einem-lkw-40657113.jpg https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/ernten-des-hopfens-mit-einem...
tacocataco 3y ago
Reminds me of the "Three sisters" agricultural planting technique. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Sisters_(agriculture) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Sisters_(agriculture)
lyjackal 3y ago
Curious if there’s any additional maintenance or safeguards needed to keep the hops off the face of the solar panel. Seems like that could be problematic
Spooky23 3y ago
The problem is - nobody cares. The developers in states like NY have a ton of influence at the legislative level and have sweeping powers. Local governments cannot effectively regulate land use, and solar farm operators just want low overhead, and have zero interest in dealing with farm leases and upkeep.
- defrost 3y ago
  Err, perhaps you meant to say that nobody in central north america cares. Countries with far higher per capita uptake of solar panels and battery farms are already well past this, eg: https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-05-30/solar-farm-grazing-sheep-agriculture-renewable-energy-review/101097364 https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-05-30/solar-farm-graz... Eventually non metric backwaters will very likely catch up.
  - jaredhallen 3y ago
    >Eventually non metric backwaters will very likely catch up. There's a lot of directions I could go with this one, but I won't take the bait. Suffice to say that's not a constructive statement.
    - defrost 3y ago
      The initial proposition that nobody cares was deeply opiniated and clearly flawed. Highlighting the blinkered vision of fishbowl positions hopefully reduces frequency.
      - Spooky23 3y ago
        You’re reading it pedanticly. If a landowner controls solar panel placement, sure, they’ll love to plant hops or make it amendable to goat-herding or whatever. But, they don’t. Solar farms are setup like any other energy entity - they want to extract the most ROI at the lowest possible cost. Does somebody care? Probably. But not anyone with skin in the game in the United States.
    - 3y ago

Breaking news, some plants are ok in (nevermind prefer) shade? Hops can be climbers, i.e. inherently companion to some shade-providing plant/tree.

The_Blade 3y ago
I just learned hops are named exactly for that, jumping on plants and sheep and the town crier or whatever. A Germany / England thing from the very early Crusader Kings timeframe. English Germanic words are so much shorter and straightforward then all our Romance and tech piffle. :)
- 2-718-281-828 3y ago
  interesting theory but a google search for etymology of hop or Hopfen is not conclusive and possible etymological threads do not lead to anything related to "jumping" or to hop / hüpfen.

barathr 3y ago

Agrivoltaics in general make a lot of sense, especially in mid to lower latitude regions. During peak summer in direct sun the temperatures now are often hotter than is ideal for optimal photosynthesis, and this problem will get worse as the planet continues to warm. Solar panels can soak up those photons on peak summer days -- when there's high AC demand, among other things. (There's also another advantage -- the panels will keep working even in the winter on lands that are fallow in the winter.)

r00fus 3y ago
Not to mention with climate change and increased summer temps (like we're suffering now in the northern hemisphere) shading may be required for optimal crop growth.
ianburrell 3y ago
Also, solar panels can be spread out more to let some light through. That uses more space, but land can be cheap. And that could let other uses like grazing continue making more land available overall.
- pfdietz 3y ago
  If the solar panels are tilted to optimize winter production, then during the summer much of the sun will strike the ground between the rows of panels.
lovemenot 3y ago
PV cells lose efficiency as temperatures increase. Having irrigated crops below should reduce air temp around the cells, slightly improving their power yield.
- barathr 3y ago
  Yup, this is a mutual benefit -- better PV efficiency and better crop yield.
paiute 3y ago
Wait what??? So 1-2 degrees average is enough to be past peak photosynthesis temperatures? And putting black solar panels is going to bring that back into optimal range? I can’t see any of that being close to factual. Crops under panels could make a lot of sense but not for any of what you said. solar panels raise the localized temp. Solar panels probably keep the area warmer when the sun is down(heat island effect). They also provide shade. Those things could be good or bad for the crop depending on the crop and the region. It’s hot today, I’m going to open the freezer door to cool the house.
- dieselgate 3y ago
  At the very least it would be helpful to use a temperature unit when mentioning degrees.
- adrian_b 3y ago
  Direct solar light is more than any plant can handle, but the plants are adapted to this, which is why the terrestrial plants are green, instead of being black, in order to reflect a large part of the solar light to avoid overheating, even if this reduces the amount of captured energy. On the other hand the oceans are dominated by diatoms and brown algae, which absorb a much greater part of the solar light. There are many plants which are adapted to live in shadows and which would grow well under solar panels, but I do not know if there are many useful crops among them.
  - kadoban 3y ago
    > Direct solar light is more than any plant can handle, but the plants are adapted to this, which is why the terrestrial plants are green, instead of being black, in order to reflect a large part of the solar light to avoid overheating, even if this reduces the amount of captured energy. From what I've read, it's more nuanced/complicated than that. It depends on details of how photosynthesis works rather than just being a simple heat effect. https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-are-plants-green-to-reduce-the-noise-in-photosynthesis-20200730/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-are-plants-green-to-reduc...

sieabahlpark 3y ago

[dead]

pstuart 3y ago

I expect this trend to grow significantly.

jerrysievert 3y ago

my first year of hop growth was fantastic, the temperatures were a bit lower during the early summer than they are this year. my second year (this year), the growth is way down and a large percentage of my hops are ready to be picked (about 2 months early). it will be nice to enjoy fresh hop beer early this year, but I haven't enjoyed the weather that has brought it to us, and not enjoying such a lower yield than last year.

msandford 3y ago
You might look at what AEA has to offer. They have a lot of experience with helping plants perform at peak photosynthesis even if the environmental conditions aren't ideal. www.advancingecoagriculture.com

Mizza 3y ago

I can think of some other equally popular but far more profitable plants in Cannabaceae family, I wonder if they enjoy the same conditions.

DropInIn 3y ago
If you're referring to what I think you're referring to, No. Those love direct sun and thrive in heat...
- fullspectrumdev 3y ago
  There are a bunch of very nice strains adapted for lower light conditions though (growing in the northern latitudes).
  - DropInIn 3y ago
    Oh for sure and there's Ruderalis (nature to BC/Canada) crosses which will effectively grow to a fixed and uniform height after autoflowering regardless of light cycle.

gpm 3y ago

On the one hand, crops under solar panels lets the land do double purpose, at least if the alternative as some sort of shade structure. On the other hand, you've increased the cost of growing the crops, because you need to work around the solar panel structure (which is much beefier than an equivalent shade structure). You've also increased the cost of installing and maintaining the solar panels, because you need to do so at a reasonable height, without damaging the crops, at a relatively low density dictated by the crops. If land is expensive this makes sense, if land is cheap this doesn't... I wonder how often it's actually worth it.

bad_alloc 3y ago
Hops already need tall poles with ropes in between to grow, so they use existing infrastructure in this case. Plus the machines are already built for it :) https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/ernten-des-hopfens-mit-einem-lkw-40657113.jpg https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/ernten-des-hopfens-mit-einem...

tacocataco 3y ago

Reminds me of the "Three sisters" agricultural planting technique. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Sisters_(agriculture) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Sisters_(agriculture)

lyjackal 3y ago

Curious if there’s any additional maintenance or safeguards needed to keep the hops off the face of the solar panel. Seems like that could be problematic

Spooky23 3y ago

The problem is - nobody cares. The developers in states like NY have a ton of influence at the legislative level and have sweeping powers. Local governments cannot effectively regulate land use, and solar farm operators just want low overhead, and have zero interest in dealing with farm leases and upkeep.

defrost 3y ago
Err, perhaps you meant to say that nobody in central north america cares. Countries with far higher per capita uptake of solar panels and battery farms are already well past this, eg: https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-05-30/solar-farm-grazing-sheep-agriculture-renewable-energy-review/101097364 https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-05-30/solar-farm-graz... Eventually non metric backwaters will very likely catch up.
- jaredhallen 3y ago
  >Eventually non metric backwaters will very likely catch up. There's a lot of directions I could go with this one, but I won't take the bait. Suffice to say that's not a constructive statement.
  - defrost 3y ago
    The initial proposition that nobody cares was deeply opiniated and clearly flawed. Highlighting the blinkered vision of fishbowl positions hopefully reduces frequency.
    - Spooky23 3y ago
      You’re reading it pedanticly. If a landowner controls solar panel placement, sure, they’ll love to plant hops or make it amendable to goat-herding or whatever. But, they don’t. Solar farms are setup like any other energy entity - they want to extract the most ROI at the lowest possible cost. Does somebody care? Probably. But not anyone with skin in the game in the United States.
  - 3y ago