this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2023
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A farm in Bavaria is covering its hops with solar panels, providing electricity to 250 households and shading the plants from the increasingly scorching summer heat in the process.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That’s interesting. Guess now you can have farming and solar on the same land?

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

When the temperatures rise further the effects of the shading can be positive. If the plants don't have the high heat stress the yield could be better in the shade. Combined with the additional income from the solar panels there is a high incentive for farmers to use this technology.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Interesting that we’re seeing wider implementation of renewable technology out in rural areas, like as with all those giant wind turbine farms you can sometimes see. Seems to make more sense out there I guess, they’ve got plenty of wide-open land available for use, it’s just interesting from a political party perspective. Rural areas seem to lean more Conservative/Republican and have thus either outright denied climate change was a thing in the first place, or dragged their feet in wanting to implement “green” energy. When the “Green New Deal” was proposed it was demonized on the Right. Yet rural areas themselves may be one of the major areas that’s actually benefits from renewable energy technology. The cities will be using most of the energy, but the countryside is where a lot of that energy may be produced.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Just to say it. This is Bavaria Germany and the leader of the local conservatives, who are very strong in the state is extremly green. As in green like an ogre.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

It works better to sell renewables as energy independence and self reliance out here rather than by the environmental benefits.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I hope we see more renewable energy in rural areas. The number of astroturf groups opposing solar panels and wind turbines in rural areas for "ecological" reasons is kind of horrifying.