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Research Center for Agri-Photovoltaics Saxony-Anhalt

The Research Center for Agri-Photovoltaics has three research facilities at the Bernburg university campus, which are operated under real farming conditions. Various photovoltaic systems are linked to the production of food and feed and also coupled with biodiversity elements. In this way, we go beyond the classic dual use of energy production and agriculture and consider the increase in ecosystem services and biodiversity as an integral part of the concept. This significantly increases the multifunctionality of the agri-photovoltaic land use system – AgriPV becomes AgriPVplus.

Project priorities

  • Practical agri-photovoltaic research facilities that synergistically combine renewable energy, agriculture, and biodiversity
  • Systematic analysis of technical, microclimatic, agronomic, and ecological effects and interactions
  • Putting it into practice: advising agricultural businesses and plant developers

Project region

Saxony-Anhalt

Further project details

  • In three research facilities, we are testing the effects of innovative mounting systems, PV module types, and biodiversity measures on key parameters in field cultivation and grassland. In two facilities, vertically mounted and tracker-mounted PV modules are being investigated in combination with field crop cultivation and the integration of insect-friendly wild plants. Crops adapted to increasingly challenging climatic conditions, such as soybeans, grain millet, winter durum, chickpeas, and quinoa, are used. A third facility combines grassland use with photovoltaics in such a way that both biomass production and feed quality are ensured and biodiversity benefits.

  • With many guests from politics, research, industry, agriculture, and nature conservation in attendance, our first AgriPVplus facility was inaugurated on October 16, 2023, on the Bernburg university campus. The project management team and the university president welcomed Saxony-Anhalt’s Minister of Science, Prof. Dr. Armin Willingmann, who gave a welcoming speech. Federal Minister of Science Bettina Stark-Watzinger sent a very motivating video message and described the AgriPVplus concept: “The new AgriPVplus test facility combines three things that were considered incompatible just a few years ago: high-yield agriculture, renewable energy production, and biodiversity protection.” We are delighted to have the opportunity to test this triple-use approach and would like to thank the BMBF (now BMFTR) and our project partners for their support! The facility was built as part of the BIODIV-SOLAR project and will be transferred to the Saxony-Anhalt Research Center for Agri-Photovoltaics in 2024.

  • Prof. Dr. Armin Willingmann stopped by in July 2025 as part of his summer trip. The AgriPVplus concept, with all its components, is now successfully established: The vertical PV modules cover a significant portion of the electricity demand at the Bernburg campus, especially in the mornings and afternoons, serving as a valuable addition to our south-facing roof system. The winter durum, soybeans, and grain millet are in their second year of crop rotation, with no significant reduction in yield due to shading from the PV modules. And the perennial, species-rich wild plant mixtures showed significantly more flower visits and more complex pollinator networks compared to spontaneous greening and grass sowing. The resulting increase in pollination performance is an important ecological function and has significant economic benefits.

  • From research to practice – that is our goal. With a wide range of different events, we ensure that the knowledge we have continuously built up is quickly put into practice. Our AgriPVplus research facilities give the multifunctional and climate-adapted agricultural landscape of Saxony-Anhalt a face.

    Are you interested in visiting our research facilities? Then write to us at sandra.dullau@hs-anhalt.de.

  • • June 10, 2026 – Agri-Photovoltaics Workshop at the Bernburg University Campus

    • June 16–18, 2026 – Meet us at the DLG Feldtage in Bernburg – directly at the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences booth or on one of our guided tours of the three AgriPVplus research facilities!

    Would you like to be informed about our events in good time? Then write to us at sandra.dullau@hs-anhalt.de.

  • In September 2025, a film crew from MDR visited us. The winter durum wheat had already been harvested, while the soybeans and grain millet were still ripening. Our wild plant strips along the rows of modules were in bloom, providing food for many insects even late in the year. You can see our vertical AgriPVplus system on MDR um 4 here.

     

    Shortly before the completion of our vertical AgriPVplus system, a team from ARD visited us in the summer of 2023. This resulted in a report that presented the AgriPVplus concept for the first time.