Clean and affordable: solar power drives green transition

According to data compiled by the UN, as of today, one in five people lack access to modern energy services and just under 3 billion people depend on wood and coal for primary activities such as cooking and heating. Moreover, in the past two years, about 1 billion people around the world have lacked access to electricity, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

These are numbers that underscore the urgency and need for shared action by institutions and communities to decouple electricity generation from fossil fuels. Indeed, the availability of energy still remains on the one hand the cause of the persistence of various environmental and social problems but on the other hand the only key to their very resolution.

And it is precisely renewable energy and its accessibility that is at the center of the narrative of the sixteenth, now penultimate, shot of BG4SDGs - Time to Change, a project dedicated to the achieving the 17 goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.

On this occasion, Stefano Guindani went to the United States, to Minnesota, to Aurora Solar Park - the largest photovoltaic plant in North America (owned by the Italian group Enel) - to report on the situation related to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 7, which is precisely about energy transition and plant efficiency in order to ensure affordable green services for all.

Located in a large area, Aurora Park is designed to play a significant role in the energy transition for the benefit of the local farming community. With a large area of solar panels, it directly converts stored energy from the sun into electricity and is thus able to avoid the emission of more than 150,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year, representing a concrete alternative to traditional fossil fuel-based energy sources.

But what sets this plant apart above all is its size and its ability to generate a large amount of energy. In fact, thanks to the use of advanced technologies and the efficiency of the solar panels, the park is capable of producing about 210 million kWh per year, enough to power thousands of homes and businesses in the surrounding region and equal to the demand of more than 17,000 U.S. households.

"In the context of Goal #7, which aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy systems for all, Enel's Aurora farms in Minnesota are a concrete example of innovation and focus on a better future. These agro-photovoltaic solar power plants combine solar energy production with agriculture, livestock and beekeeping, creating a virtuous circle in which different forms of production support each other. While the solar panels produce clean energy, the sheep and bees play a crucial role: the sheep help keep the spaces around the solar panels clean (preventing fires) by mowing the grass naturally and without the use of fossil fuels; the bees promote biodiversity, pollination, and pollinator preservation, thus also supporting SGD's goal number 15; at the same time, the bees benefit from the flowers in the area, enabling them to produce high-quality honey. In addition, after 20 years the land is returned to the owners in better condition than before. Initiatives like these are an example of social and technological innovation, showing how it is possible to reconcile clean energy production, sustainable agriculture and environmental conservation," said Stefano Guindani, photographer and curator of the project.

In addition to the environmental benefits of clean energy production, the Park also contributes to the creation of local jobs and the support of the local economy.

Beekeeping cooperatives beyond the park fence take advantage of the ecosystem recreated at the site in order to help bee populations and promote crop productivity for surrounding farms. In addition, honey produced by Aurora's bees is sold to the food and beverage industries. Finally, the project involves the use of different species of livestock to implement the grazing plan. Sheep carry the plant seeds around the land, scatter them around and trample them with their hooves; doing so results in an increase in agricultural yield of more than 40 percent.