The south of Gran Canaria takes a new step towards energy self-sufficiency with the materialization of the Arguineguín 1 Agricultural Photovoltaic Park project, an action promoted by Agrícola Arguineguín, which mobilizes an initial investment of 1.525.226 euros in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana.
The financial investment is earmarked for the installation of a 2 MW clean energy generation plant on a rural area traditionally dedicated to banana cultivation, combining industrial activity with the continuity of the primary sector. The investment strategy stands out for its innovative approach to land-use compatibility in the face of the phytosanitary crisis caused by Panama disease. Given the need to repurpose the affected banana plantations, the funds allocated to the solar park are strictly limited to the damaged land, allowing for the preservation of existing roads, the continued production of the remaining area, and the parallel introduction of new low-growing crops. In this way, the private initiative manages to make the rural land profitable by directly injecting energy into the distribution grid, diversifying the farm's income without destroying the historical agricultural fabric of the southern region.
The project, legally backed by the regional government after overcoming disagreements with the island's planning regulations, aims to maximize economic and environmental benefits in an island territory burdened by the extra cost of conventional electricity generation. With an estimated production exceeding 6.000 MWh annually, the plant not only guarantees a financial return on investment for its developers but also directly impacts the reduction of the regional energy bill, avoiding the annual import of more than 500 tons of oil equivalent and drastically cutting polluting emissions into the island's atmosphere.
Originally conceived in 1981 by German scientists Adolf Goetzberger and Armin Zastrow, the concept of agrivoltaics only began to gain popularity in the last decade. Early practices involved 'agrisolar,' a scheme that promoted the preservation of agricultural land and the viability of farming by implementing a photovoltaic system on the land itself. This approach led to the development of installations on the roofs of barns and stables.
Later, it evolved to combine with the management of shared light between a photovoltaic installation and daily agricultural practices, giving rise to agrivoltaics, which involves, for example, deploying solar panels to shade crops. Defining this technology is one of the challenges in Spain, as acknowledged by the Spanish Photovoltaic Union (UNEF) in its recent report, which proposes maintaining coherence between both sectors. According to UNEF data, electricity production from agrivoltaics can lead to an increase of more than 30% in the economic value of land; a 60-70% increase in its total productivity; greater opportunities for farmers to achieve long-term profitability; and environmental improvements.
