Japanese farmers grow vegetables while "planting" electricity to revive agriculture

2013/12/26

content Summary: Since plants absorb a certain amount of light every day, why not use the remaining sunlight? In a vegetable garden in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, rows of solar panels are erected in the upper space of the farmland, and these panels can generate nearly 35000 degrees of electricity per year on average.

In a 750-square-meter vegetable garden in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, Kanto Prefecture, Honda, Japan, rows of neat brackets stand between the ridges, with lead-gray plates arranged in gaps, but they are not used to drive birds away. If you look closely, you will find that they are all solar panels.

Vegetable farmers grow vegetables and" kind of electricity"

according to reports, this is the solar energy sharing project team of the city's Shangzong Hewu Power Generation Institute. It is a win-win mode of solar power generation in the field without affecting the growth of vegetables-planting vegetables and "planting electricity". Previously, the law strictly prohibited the erection of solar power generation equipment in farmland. However, at the end of March 2013, Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries issued a notice allowing farmers to set up solar panels in the upper space of farmland to generate electricity.

The concept was first proposed in 2004 by Akila Nakajima, a retired Japanese agricultural machinery engineer. He studies biology and understands the concept of the "light saturation point": increased levels of solar irradiation, photosynthesis however, after accumulation to a certain extent, even if the amount of light irradiated on the plant increases, it will not increase the rate of photosynthesis.

Knowing that too much sunlight does not further promote plant growth, Akira came up with the idea of collecting and using excess sunlight to make solar panel systems more suitable for agriculture. His specially designed structure was patented and looks like a flower vine stand in a garden.

It is impossible to densely arrange solar panels in farmland to generate electricity. After the sunlight is blocked by the densely laid solar panels, the crops below cannot grow normally. Therefore, the basic attitude of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is: "We should not only pursue power generation but also plant good land first."

akira carried out experiments in Chiba Prefecture and made many experimental fields with different shading effects on different crops. Japan requires that the installation of photovoltaic systems must be simple, the field must not use concrete pouring base, and easy to disassemble, its bracket design and assembly must ensure that there is enough sunlight to the crops, but also leave enough space to facilitate agricultural machinery in the field operations. Akira said the rules are a way to prevent farmers from completely converting productive farmland into solar panels.

After many experiments, he suggested that the shading rate of each farmland should be 32%, so that enough sunlight can be left for crop growth. In order to ensure continuous farming, the Chiba Prefecture Board of Agriculture requires that farmers must report the annual planting volume. After installing solar panels, if the crop harvest is less than 20% more than when it was not installed, the panels must be removed.

Farmers' income increased several times

"This solar energy sharing method is a powerful strategy to revitalize agriculture!" Takazawa Zhen, head of the solar energy sharing project at the Shangzong Hewu Power Plant in Chiba Prefecture, is the manager of this pastoral area. He said that this is the first solar energy project in Japan to use this mechanism. Japanese farmers are facing serious problems, such as reduced agricultural income and no successor. Many farmers are forced to find second jobs to make ends meet. Takazawa learned this way from Akira and found that it could stimulate declining agriculture and increase farmers' incomes while contributing to Japan's energy needs.

Takazawa has installed 348 solar panels in this 750-square-meter agricultural land. They are mounted on top of the pipe, 3 meters above the ground, with 5 meters between each row. In order to generate as much power as possible, the panel can also adjust the angle with the seasons. For example, in winter and summer, the angle of the panel facing the sun can be adjusted to 40 degrees and 25 degrees respectively. Under the solar panels, Takazawa's father has grown peanuts, yams, eggplant, taro, etc., and he sells these vegetables to the neighborhood on the nearby street.

According to Gao Ze, the system cost him 12.6 million yen (about 780000 yuan) and can generate nearly 35000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year on average. Tokyo Electric Power Company, in accordance with the relevant law on the use of renewable energy to generate electricity-the "Fixed Price Full Volume Purchase Law", has set a 20-year contract with him to buy at a price of 42 yen (about 2.6 yuan) per unit of electricity. In this way, he can earn about 1.5 million yen (about 93000 yuan) every year by selling electricity alone, in the past, the land only earned about 100000 yen (about 6200 yuan) a year by growing vegetables. Doing so in the countryside will not only produce clean energy, but also stimulate the local economy, which he hopes will attract young people back to the countryside.

Many people question the stability and durability of this solar sharing system. On September 16, the No. 18 strong typhoon "Wanyi" in 2013 hit the Kanto region. People thought that the panels should be blown away, but the reality is that there are intervals between these solar panels, which can make the wind pass smoothly., To prevent the solar panels from being blown away by the huge wind.

Akeela also recommends that U.S. farmers adopt this solar-sharing farm model. He said that putting solar panels on the grass can shade cattle and sheep when they are resting, and can also reduce water evaporation, thereby reducing irrigation costs. Akira also said that before the industrial revolution, farmers provided food and energy (firewood and charcoal) for society. Today, this kind of vegetable and "electricity" mode once again allows farmers to provide these two types of important substances.

Reflective scallop shells increase power generation

seeing the vegetable farmers busy growing vegetables and "planting electricity", the fishermen are not far behind. Japan's Hokkaido region is rich in scallops, where scallops are generally the size of an adult's open palm. In many places near the sea, you can see small mounds of white scallop shells. Today, some research units and fishermen have found that laying those huge scallops under the solar panels and allowing them to reflect sunlight onto the solar panels increases the power generation by 20% compared to not laying the scallops. As a result, many fishermen are busy. They pay close attention to the cooperation with the scallop processing manufacturers to catch electricity again ". In this way, turning waste into treasure not only does not have to spend money to deal with scallop shells, but also contributes to power generation and increases income, which can be described as a win-win situation.

In Hokkaido, where heavy snow often floats, solar power generation capacity is amazing. The reporter's net walk market is also gradually promoting solar power generation, but many families put solar panels on their roofs. The average temperature in Hokkaido is low, and the snow season is from November to March of the following year. Will the snow be very thick, and will it adversely affect solar power generation? The reporter interviewed Kondo Hibo, manager of the Hokkaido Net Go City Electrical Appliance Store, which is also engaged in the sales and installation of solar panels and modules.

He said that contrary to expectations, statistics show that the ability to use solar power in many parts of Hokkaido even exceeds that of places such as Tokyo, where there is less snow and relatively little snow accumulation. For example, Sapporo, Kushiro and other cities in Hokkaido have set up 20 household solar panels with 4 kW power systems to generate electricity. Their annual power generation is generally about 4300 degrees. A system of the same size, such as Tokyo, generates 4158 degrees per year, less than Hokkaido.

http://www.twwtn.com/Agriculture/53_217199_1.html

man of Feeding