Multi-risk insurance: agrivoltaics comes out of the shade
To optimise its support for the transition of French agriculture, Crédit Agricole Assurances now insures new agricultural installations such as photovoltaic shade systems, which enable farmers to combine agricultural production with photovoltaic electricity generation on the same plot of land.
Solar energy for agriculture
There are two main types of photovoltaic shade systems:
- Pivoting canopies, still in the experimental phase, protect crops against weather hazards and adapt agricultural practices to climate change (sun, strong heat, hail, wind...). This type of shade system is termed “pivoting” because its position can be adjusted according to the brightness, temperature or evaporation of crops planted underneath.
- Installed in pastures, fixed shade systems are already an established feature of the landscape in central France. They enable the production of solar energy by optimising the use of farmland, while providing shelter to improve the welfare of livestock, such as poultry or sheep.
“Multirisque Agricole”, Pacifica's comprehensive agricultural insurance offering, already includes than 4,500 policies covering solar panels, and since 2019, more than 100 policies have also covered solar trackers. Today, insurers are increasingly being asked to protect new devices such as photovoltaic shade systems. Credit Agricole Assurances – the traditional insurer of the French agricultural sector – has decided to respond by extending the coverage of its comprehensive agricultural insurance to include fixed shade systems in an initial phase. In addition, Pacifica is supporting the network by providing prevention advice on how to best insure these new technologies.