Kubota agrivoltaic system allows rice farming and combine harvesting beneath elevated solar panels

Solar power generation paired with agricultural practices offers a dual solution.

Farming has played a historically vital role in shaping Japan’s landscape for thousands of years.

Now, this culturally significant practice is facing a shrinking workforce and an increase in arable land abandonment.

This layout leaves enough room beneath the structure, enabling rice transplanters, full-size tractors, and harvesters to operate undisturbed.

Meanwhile, the nation also faces pressure to meet strict climate regulations by securing sustainable energy.

Will combining the two sectors help the country overcome these compounding challenges by maximizing land use?

How an old cultural practice is dwindling

Farming has played a crucial role in shaping Japan’s landscape.

Roughly 3,000 years ago, the nation shifted from hunting and gathering to settled agricultural communities.

Rice cultivation, along with other commodities, became pivotal in building and sustaining these communities.

The practice also holds strong religious ties, becoming tied to Shinto beliefs.

Ceremonies were even dedicated to rice divinities like Inari and field spirits to ensure good harvests.

Soon, rice farming ensured the nation’s food security by becoming a dietary staple.

Its role in regional economies has also been defining.

Unfortunately, this culturally and economically significant practice is dwindling in the modern age.

Japan’s aging population has led to a shrinking workforce across the agricultural sector.

With fewer successors to take over family farms, arable land is being abandoned at a growing rate.

This leads to a major loss of domestic production capacity, costing the economy billions in weakened rural stability.

Facing additional pressures from the clean energy sector

Japan is currently facing more than one challenge.

The nation is under pressure to meet urgent climate targets. This includes reducing emissions by 60% by 2035 and reaching net-zero by 2050.

But boosting green capacity growth is about more than lowering carbon emissions and sustaining nature.

The country’s annual electricity consumption has exceeded 850 terawatt-hours.

As a result, utility-scale solar power generation has been identified as fundamental to meeting these energy demands more sustainably.

However, solar capacity growth has been slow due to severe land constraints.

Japan is known for its mountainous landscapes, making the deployment of conventional photovoltaic facilities difficult.

Suitable, sunny acreage is also often prioritized for urban development, conservation, and the few remaining farming practices.

This means that competition over viable land has become intense and can even trigger strong pushback from locals.

Fortunately, Kubota took an innovative approach to simultaneously address clean power production and agricultural challenges.

Combining solar power and farming as a dual solution

An agrivoltaic model is key to solving energy challenges and supporting a dwindling agricultural sector.

In Japan, this initiative is referred to as “solar sharing” and entails mounting solar panels above active farm fields.

Kubota is deploying this dual-use project mainly across Tochigi and Ibaraki prefectures.

The system divides one plot of land into two production levels.

A dual-level agrivoltaic strategy

The ground serves as the first level of production.

Here, crops such as rice, wheat, and soybeans are grown underneath solar panels.

Overhead, on the second level, the panels simultaneously produce clean electricity.

The panels are elevated 10.2 feet above the crops and are supported by columns spaced 16.4 feet apart.

This layout leaves enough room beneath the structure, enabling rice transplanters, full-size tractors, and harvesters to operate undisturbed.

Furthermore, farmers benefit from a new secondary income stream.

Kubota presently operates roughly 50 agrivoltaic systems.

The goal is to scale this footprint to almost 200 installations.

For Japan, these dual-use projects’ proven success paves a positive outlook.

Abandoned acreage can be revitalized, and regional energy and food security can be increased.

It also addresses the nation’s land-use competition, demonstrating that the two sectors can benefit each other.

Ultimately, rapidly scaling agrivoltaic projects across rural landscapes is key to meeting strict climate regulations.