Agrivoltaics: Total and InVivo pool their expertise to combine agricultural production and renewable energy

Agrivoltaics: Total and InVivo pool their expertise to combine agricultural production and renewable energy

Total, via Total Quadran, its subsidiary dedicated to renewable electricity production in France, and the InVivo Group, a national union of agricultural cooperatives with more than 300,000 farmers, via its subsidiary Agrosolutions, have signed a partnership aimed at accelerating the development of agrivoltaic solutions.

Agrivoltaics is an innovative approach that combines photovoltaic electricity production with agricultural production on the same area. It helps to enhance the value of unproductive, very stony land, on windy plateaus or land that is too exposed to the sun, by making it possible to diversify into new types of crops, while producing photovoltaic energy. The approach can also facilitate job creation through increased farm productivity.

Total Quadran and InVivo are pooling their expertise through three commitments:

• Setting up a research and development unit on the evolution of agrivoltaics.
• Working with agricultural players to better identify their challenges and propose realistic and feasible solutions.
• Support for the definition of concrete economic models for the projects.

As part of this collaboration with InVivo, Total Quadran will provide photovoltaic energy solutions adapted to the needs of each farm: shading, windscreens, panels on trackers or conventional self-consumption installations. The partners have already identified 200 hectares of agricultural land that could potentially benefit from solar installations.

Total Quadran's ambition is to install nearly 500 megawatts of photovoltaic power on agricultural land by 2025, which could produce the equivalent of the consumption of more than 500,000 people.

"With the 3rd way of agriculture supported by our group, we are accompanying the ecological and technological transition of the agricultural world, so that agricultural production becomes a lever for combating climate change. This partnership is a perfect illustration. By structuring our CSR policy and investing in new technologies and innovations, we are providing solutions that enable farmers to produce more and better", says Thierry Blandinières, CEO of InVivo.

"Total Quadran is proud to join InVivo in this unique partnership, which will contribute to the development of renewable energy in France," said Thierry Muller, CEO of Total Quadran. "We are convinced that cooperation between energy companies and agricultural players can promote the growth of renewable energies in a way that benefits all stakeholders."