Workshop on the legal framework of agrivoltaics in Flanders

A stakeholder meeting with researchers, farmers, and policymakers at regional and province levels, as well as a farmer organisation, was organised at the first large-scale agrivoltaics system installed in Flanders at Halberry.

The stakeholder meeting consisted of two parts. The first part included a visit to the recently installed 7,000-square-meter agrivoltaics set-up over blueberries. The owner of the facility told the full story from design and obtaining the necessary permits to the actual building of the system.

The second part consisted of a workshop on the legislative framework of agrivoltaics in Flanders. First, a presentation was given by KU Leuven on the legislative framework of agrivoltaics in some other European countries (Germany, France and Italy). This was followed by an interactive discussion among all stakeholders present. Several discussion topics were presented using a poll system after which the different topics were verbally discussed in more detail.

Some examples of the topics that were discussed:

• What role should the farmer play in the agrivoltaics project?
• What type of agrivoltaics systems do we want to allow in Flanders?
• What types of agriculture do we want to allow in combination with agrivoltaics?
• What requirements must a PV system meet to be considered agrivoltaics?

With the participation of farmers, a farmer organization, policymakers, and researchers, a wide range of perspectives came together in one room, fostering lively and engaging discussions. These insights and perspectives will be of high value in the ongoing development of the policy instrument within the EAGER project.