An Italian solar farm uses double-sided vertical panels to catch morning and evening sunlight while soybeans and grain grow between them
In the very fields that many take for granted, some of the biggest changes to our food supply is taking place.
The balancing act between yielding edible produce and finding space to produce clean energy is a delicate one, as energy-producing facilities can’t take over the farmland that keeps people fed.
But it doesn’t have to be one or the other, as one energy company is Italy is determined to prove. Because what if solar panels could work with the sun while crops were able to continue growing around them?
This project was designed to keep the ground productive, with produce, with the solar panels being positioned in such a way that crops can grow in between them.
A different kind of harvest
Energy company Next2Sun, along with its partners, recently came together for a project in northeastern Italy.
Called the Portogruaro Agrivoltaics Park, it is located in Italy’s Veneto region, and it officially opened on 23 September 2026.
What makes this facility so interesting is that it is bringing together two important activities – clean energy generation and cultivating agricultural land – that can often compete for the same space. Now, they no longer have to.
This project was designed to keep the ground productive, with produce, with the solar panels being positioned in such a way that crops can grow in between them.
Some of the crops that have been planned for in between the solar module rows include soybeans, cereals, herbs and other flowering plants.
The benefits of this combination is that it can support Italy’s climate goals while simultaneously protecting valuable farmland.
There’s more than one way to work the land
The Portogruaro site has a capacity of one megawatt. But what makes it so special is how it shares the land.
According to Next2Sun, more than 90% of the of the area is left available by the system for agriculture and ecological activities.
Only a small proportion of the ground is occupied by the panels and support structures, offering wide gaps that allow farming to continue.
Standard agricultural machinery is able to work between them, with the rows being at least 26 feet apart.
Double the face, double the sunshine
What makes this solar farm particularly interesting is the way that the solar panels are positioned, which is what allows electricity generation and traditional farming to take place side by side.
A double-sided solution
These solar modules are not simply lying at an angle facing the midday sun.
Instead, they stand vertically, with one of their light-sensitive faces turning east and the other one west.
This is because they are bifacial panels, which are able to capture sunlight from both sides, with one soaking up the morning sun and the other catching afternoon rays.
Switching up the schedule
While many would think that electricity generation efforts should be at a maximum around midday, this facility shifts more of its production towards the morning and evening.
This move complements conventional solar installations, many of which aren’t able to produce enough energy to keep the lights on in times of darkness, and reduces some of the pressure on stored electricity.
Making room for growth
Plenty of room is left available for agricultural thanks to the vertical design.
The open layout means that rain can reach the soil and machinery can easily maneuver between the rows.
Next2Sun says that low-growing cereals and legumes are the crops that are best suited to this innovative hybrid system.
A brighter future takes root
The Portogruaro site is proving that it is possible for energy transition to work alongside existing livelihoods. Because progress doesn’t have to mean leaving productive farm fields behind.
With this novel approach, farmers don’t have to choose between food and clean power anymore because there is space for both.
Could this become the future of farming in other places, too?
