Capturing agrivoltaics: Lightsource bp partners with photography students

Solar projects offer landowners the perfect opportunity to make the most out of their land, where energy generation and farming go hand in hand.

A collaboration with the University of Bedfordshire recently saw six third-year BA Photography students visiting Lightsource bp-developed Lawrence End Solar Farm near Luton.

The students were tasked with capturing the ways in which solar can co-exist with farming practices. Alongside the panels, Lawrence End is also home to a herd of sheep that help to naturally maintain the site through their grazing.

The partnership highlights how solar energy infrastructure can coexist with agricultural practices, underscoring the crucial measures we take to support landowners and farmers in maximising their land’s potential and efficiency. It also provides students with the chance to observe firsthand the impact of solar on the agriculture industry.

Piotr Woch

A sheep and it's lamb in a field of solar panels

Mihaela-Luliana Sercau

The contributing six students: Anita Bhatti, Mihaela-Luliana Sercau, Piotr Woch, Rodica Tomescu, Syed Shah and Vasile Burla, visited Lawrence End Solar Farm over two sessions. The 5MW site is located less than five miles from their campus and generates enough electricity to power the equivalent of over 1,400 local households. The site was designed to allow continued agricultural use of the fields, promoting multi land use through sheep grazing alongside electricity generation.

Declan Keiley, Head of Business Development, UK and Ireland, at Lightsource bp, said: “Lightsource bp prides itself on the development and management of multi land use solar projects, and energy generation working seamlessly alongside agricultural practices. This partnership offers the students practical experience in documenting the benefits of solar leases for farming businesses and helps them understand more about renewable energy and sustainable farming practices.”

Dr Nicoló Giudice, Course Leader of BA (Hons) Photography at the University of Bedfordshire, said: “When Lightsource bp invited photography students from the University of Bedfordshire to photograph their solar panel farms and how they are integrated within the local farming and agricultural activities, I was delighted to liaise with the team to make it happen. This is a fantastic opportunity for photography students to work on a live brief for an international company which focuses on sustainability and the production of green energy.”