Solar panels and crops can share the same field – and the crops may do better for it, according to new agrivoltaics trial results from France and beyond.

In French trials, barley grown under a solar canopy yielded 90 to 96% of the control crop, with grain-specific weight 3% higher. Maize did even better: 19.6% more than open-field plots.

A Minnesota study found grass grown under panels had higher protein and fibre digestibility, improving its value as dairy forage.

Spain is testing oliovoltaics – solar panels over olive groves – while Austria's Sonnenfeld project reported wheat yields up 14% under panels.

China now hosts more than 1,658 agrivoltaics projects, the world's largest fleet.

The panels reduce water evaporation and protect crops from heat stress and hail, while farmers earn a second income from electricity.

Researchers say the results challenge the idea that solar farms and farmland must compete. With careful design – the right panel height, spacing and crop choice – the same hectare can produce both food and power.

Experts caution that results vary by crop and climate, and long-term soil and biodiversity effects still need study.