Greek agro-voltaic products impress foreign agronomists

 

A group of 20 students from all over the world visited a one-of-a-kind greenhouse in Greece that operates exclusively with renewable energy sources and has 3rd generation photovoltaics on its roof.

The visit was part of the International Conference "New Technologies and new amendments in the agricultural world of Greece," organised by IAAS Greece from 23 to 30 April.

The students were impressed by the Greek agro-voltaics, particularly the translucent flexible electronics manufactured by the Greek company Organic Electronic Technologies. Eugenia Athanasiadou, agronomist at OET, explained how the greenhouse works and showcased the benefits of the triple land use that results from the use of agrovoltaics.

3rd generation photovoltaics enhance plant growth and increase the yield of the crop by up to 30% in hydroponic tomatoes, as evidenced by the results of the experimental cultivation already done in this greenhouse, while their use has also been tested for other vegetables such as pepper, eggplant, etc.

OET started experimental cultivation in 2015 through the European project Agrores. The 3rd generation photovoltaics produced in Greece by OET have an adaptive transparency and only the photosynthetically active radiation used for plant photosynthesis passes through it. The integration of the 3rd generation photovoltaics enables the possibility of 3-fold land use with simultaneous production of energy, food, and reduction of water consumption.

The students from Italy, the Netherlands, Croatia, Morocco and Mexico were given a tour of the greenhouse, informed about how it works, and saw how energy is stored.

The visit of the IAAS agronomists took place in the framework of the International Conference on "New Technologies and New Amendments in the Agricultural World of Greece" organised by IAAS Greece from 23 to 30 April.

During the International Conference, agronomist Eugenia Athanasiadou referred extensively to the use of agrovoltaic systems, which are being used with great success in Greece, and the applications of the 3rd generation photovoltaic systems produced in Thessaloniki. As she explained, through the European project Flex2Energy, in which the Greek company OET is the coordinator, a unit for mass production of 3rd generation photovoltaics will be created and their applications will be developed in greenhouses, buildings and cars.

IAAS Greece started in Thessaloniki as an idea of a small group of students of the Faculty of Agriculture of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Now IAAS Greece has over 80 members mostly in Northern Greece.

Caption: The international group of students in the model greenhouse facility with 3rd generation photovoltaics (photo: IAAS Greece/OET)

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