Agrovoltaics Demonstration Garden

Overview

Solar energy and agriculture are usually treated as competitors for land: a field is either given to panels or kept for crops. Agrovoltaics rejects that trade-off. By raising solar panels high enough, and spacing them widely enough, crops can grow underneath and between them. The same plot then produces two harvests at once: food from the soil and electricity from the sun above it.

We are designing a demonstration garden to show, under real Nigerian conditions, that this works.

Why it matters here

Most Nigerians without reliable electricity live in rural communities, and those same communities depend on smallholder farming for food and income. A model that asks farming families to choose between productive land and access to power solves one problem by creating another. Agrovoltaics offers a way to refuse the choice.

The approach has three practical advantages. In hot climates, partial shade from panels can reduce heat stress and soil evaporation for suitable crops, which can mean less irrigation. Vegetation beneath panels cools them compared to bare ground, which supports generation, so the crops help the panels while the panels help the crops. And the electricity is generated exactly where it is useful: it can run irrigation pumps, cold storage for produce that would otherwise spoil, and processing equipment that lets farmers sell finished goods rather than raw crops, keeping more income in the community.

What the demonstration garden will do

Farmers manage thin margins and cannot afford to gamble a season on a concept from a brochure, so the most persuasive thing we can build is a working site they can walk through. The garden is being designed to answer the questions a Nigerian smallholder would actually ask:

• Which crops handle partial shade well in our conditions?
• How much can water use fall?
• What does the structure cost to build from locally available materials, and how long does it last?
• What can the power realistically run?
• What does maintenance involve?

We will keep records against each of these questions and publish what we find, including what does not work. Evidence, not enthusiasm, is what makes a model spread.

Current status

The project is in development. Current work is site selection, structural design suited to local materials and conditions, and crop selection for the first planting cycles. Design decisions will be documented on our blog as they are made.

Work with us

We are looking for landholders in suitable locations, agricultural extension professionals, research institutions interested in the crop and water data, and funders focused on the intersection of food security and clean energy. Input at the design stage shapes this project more than at any other point. Write to info@celi.org.ng.

Status: In development. Site selection and design underway. Last updated July 2026.