Solar power plant in agricultural areas: the environment and the farmer are grateful

It is estimated that more than US$4 trillion annually will be needed to neutralize current levels of carbon emissions and avoid an increase in global temperature above 1,5ºC, as foreseen in the 2015 Paris Agreement. gigantic, it seems far from our reality. But there are local actions that can - and should - be encouraged, so that many people have the chance to contribute to the preservation of the planet and can join the transformation of the global economy into a low-carbon system.

In the countryside in particular, there is an important opportunity for landowners to contribute to reducing emissions. Even better, it brings extra income to the farmer. As? Ten hectares of land can neutralize the emission of 500 tons of CO2/year, the equivalent of planting 3,5 trees. The trick is to “plant solar energy”, that is, to allocate part of the land to the production of distributed generation (DG) photovoltaic energy. In other words, relatively small power plants, up to 5 MW, that generate clean, renewable energy with a low environmental impact.

There are more than a hundred thousand plots of land that have joined this wave of clean energy. Four years ago, the power of distributed solar energy generation in the field did not exceed 47 MW, produced in 3 thousand systems. Today, according to ABSOLAR, the 112 thousand systems in rural areas account for more than 2 GW in the Brazilian electricity matrix, or close to 14% of the existing DG power in the country.

What is also noteworthy is the fact that farmers who dedicate themselves to “planting” solar energy do not need to invest a single cent in the project. If his land is suitable for energy companies, he will receive a much higher return for his lease than traditional local cultures.

To give you an idea, according to IBGE data from 2021, ten hectares of sugarcane in São Paulo yielded, on average, close to R$6 per month last year and beans approximately R$10 per month. In Bahia, soybeans yielded R$8,5 per month in this area in the same period. In Pernambuco, sugarcane, on average, brought the owner of ten hectares R$6,8 per month. Exploration on ten hectare plots of land leased to distributed generation solar energy projects, depending on their characteristics, can result in between R$5 and R$11 in monthly income for the owners, for periods exceeding two decades.

At the end of the day, the amount paid to tenants for their land is calculated based on variables such as solar irradiation in the region, soil slope, distance from a local distributor's energy substation, soil type, among other factors. The rental income from these lands is paid monthly, guaranteeing the farmer a predictable cash flow distributed throughout the year, which helps him finance the off-season of other crops on the farm.

But it is not just the farmer who profits from this model. From a macro point of view, there are even more benefits: when energy generation is spread across many locations across the country, becoming closer to consumption, it reduces bottlenecks in the national electrical system, while reducing the need for investment. in transmission. In other words, we are facing a scenario in which the farmer, the environment and the national electrical system win.

And, as the economist and co-founder of the consultancy Systemiq, Jeremy Oppenheim, stated while passing through Brazil a few days ago: “The economic and climate agendas must support each other, without competing with each other”. Even better if the environment, the electrical system and the farmer benefit.

By Rodrigo Leite, managing partner of Apolo Renováveis