PRIZE COMPETITION: DESIGN AN AGRICULTURAL SOLAR SYSTEM

Innovative designs to combine solar systems with existing agricultural functions

Generating renewable energy using solar systems requires space. The agricultural sector manages around 60% of the land in the Netherlands. The Paris Climate Agreement stipulates that the use of renewable energy must not jeopardise food production.  Additional costs for solar systems to enable their integration with agricultural land use, as well as spatial planning frameworks and regulations for the agricultural sector, mean that suitable solar systems are not yet available for many agricultural land uses. Hence the demand for innovative designs to combine agrivoltaic systems with the existing agricultural functions of the land.

On Friday 13 October 2017, innovation agency WeLLDesign, on behalf of RVO.nl, organised a creative gathering to mark the launch of the design competition. During this event, multidisciplinary teams of farmers, producers and designers brainstormed innovative solutions. Some of these teams have already registered, but we would also love to hear your solution so it can compete in the contest!

Participation

1. Participation in the competition is open to everyone.
2. Participants in the creative session on 13 October 2017 had the privilege of gaining a great deal of inspiration on that day.
3. To compete in the competition, the proposals must no later than 3 November 2017 to be submitted to WeLLDesign, attention of. deVries@WeLLDesign.com.
4. The design is submitted in the form of a short video or a PowerPoint presentation of a maximum of approx. 10 slides. Further clarification can be attached (sketches, calculations etc.) for judging.
5. At the annual conference for the solar energy sector, Sunday, on 8 November 2017, the submitted designs will be presented to the public in a continuous presentation during lunch.
6. In November, an expert jury will evaluate the entries and a maximum of three designs will be selected. The jury consists of:

• Kees van Zelderen – Portfolio holder for Climate and Sustainable Energy at LTO Nederland
• Olof van der Gaag – Director of the Dutch Renewable Energy Association (NVDE)
• Wijnand van Hooff – Solar energy programme director at TKI Urban Energy
• Marc Tassoul – lecturer, Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, TU Delft
• Rudy Brons– Brons + partners landscape architects

7. The designs for agrivoltaic systems are assessed on:
   • Creativity / design / landscape integration
   • Technical-economic feasibility with a view to application in 2020
   • Extent to which the agricultural function can be combined with energy production
   • Scalability of the solution, in terms of small to large formats and/or the production of larger quantities  Price

1. The audience present on Sunday will be given the opportunity to designate a top 3 – that leads to a people's choice award.
2. In November, the jury will assess the submitted concepts, and the three best-assessed concepts will be announced by Friday 1 December at the latest.
3. The audience award is not taken into account in the jury's decision.
4. The three jury-selected designs received support from WeLLDesign for further development in the period December 2017 – February 2018. This guidance focuses, amongst other things, on the area of product development (process and content) and steps to be taken for marketing and commercialisation.
5. RVO offers applicants the opportunity to receive advice on laws and regulations and potential grants during a consultation meeting.
6. RVO will publish details regarding the results of the creative session held on 13 October 2017, the submissions and presentations from Sunday 8 November 2017, and the further elaboration of the three winners.