In the year 2015, Laurent Coulot (CEO), Mathieu Ackermann (CTO) as well as Florian Gerlich (Product architect) met to form Insolight the company, which is located within Lausanne, Switzerland. In the last 4 years Insolight collaborates closely farmers and agricultural centers throughout Europe and focusing on the development of solutions for agrivoltaics that can effectively can be used as agronomic aid for farmers, and address the demands of the farming community.
Insolight created Insolight has established a Global Partnership program that seeks to work with businesses across all stages of the value chain. The program will be launched in 2021. Migros Group joined this program, and has been selling positive energy-producing fruits grown in the Insolagrin Agrivoltaic systems in their stores for the past two years.
The agrivoltaic device is a radical change to conventional farming methods by replacing the use of plastic tunnels, foils and nets by introducing a new crop protection system that permits continued agriculture and generates revenue by way of annual rent from electricity generation. Growers may get a reduction in costs for electricity. One of the advantages that are part of this insolagrin method is its capability to incorporate agronomic choices. Like, for instance, a shading screen, which permits an exact control of the microclimate under the plant is a possibility to integrate. The shading screen is controlled by a microclimate management algorithm that was created in collaboration with the Insolight team. The algorithm can be customized to optimize the conditions for growth of crops in accordance with the needs of the plant. In addition, sensors for temperature, humidity and irradiance offer real-time information regarding the growth of crops and allow growers to track and alter the conditions when needed.
The agricultural results from the 2023 season of growth reinforce the effectiveness of insolagrin installation. In the summer heat in July and August the system insolagrin was able to succeed by sustaining a microclimate beneath the structure that was about 2-3 degrees cooler than traditional tunnels made of plastic. In addition, the production of berries with the agrivoltaic panels revealed an astounding decrease of as much as 50% in the amount of water consumed which is a significant benefits for growers.
The year 2023 saw Insolight created five business Agrivoltaic projects that covered three hectares in various areas throughout Switzerland as well as France. They were built with numerous structures to accommodate various crops. This led to broadening the selection of the berries, to also include specialty plants like fruit trees, grapes vegetables and ornamental plants. The most notable is the project which covers 1.6 acres, was developed as collaboration in collaboration with Lubera as well as EW Buchs, where Insolight created translucent PV modules to allow seamless integration into an innovative glass greenhouse.
Join us today in forming a sustainable agriculture for the future with the umbrella of “PNRR”
The European Commission’s just given approval to a massive EUR1.7 billion for agrivoltaics by 2024 under the scheme known as PNRR. The Insolight program that falls under the “advanced Agrivoltaics” category, can be used as an option for benefiting from the PNRR. Authorizations for projects must be received in a hurry, by February 2023 in order to qualify.
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Insolight
Email: info@insolight.ch
Source: The Plantations International Agroforestry Group of Companies