How can you efficiently automate irrigation beneath an agrivoltaic structure?
This is the challenge tackled in a project led by TSE Énergie in Charente-Maritime (France), where elevated dynamic photovoltaic panels coexist with a fully automated irrigation system supervised in real time. This configuration makes it possible to combine agricultural production, precision irrigation and solar energy generation on a single plot.
To meet the demands of this environment, irrigation control relies on the AtlasX devices, connected to the SPHERAG platform. This solution enables centralized management, remote control and precise automation of the irrigation equipment, with real-time visibility into how it operates. The irrigation network was designed and installed by SOVERDI, a specialist in the sizing and installation of irrigation systems, which developed a hydraulic solution adapted to the constraints of the plot and the agrivoltaic structure.
This project shows how Atlas makes it possible to efficiently automate and control irrigation in an agrivoltaic installation.
Fitting irrigation beneath the panels without losing cultivable land
Agrivoltaics means combining, on the same plot, agricultural production and solar energy generation using photovoltaic structures installed above the crops. This approach offers clear advantages, but it also brings new technical demands—particularly when it comes to fitting an effective irrigation system without compromising farming activity.
For its project in Charente-Maritime, TSE Énergie deployed a dynamic photovoltaic structure over a 3-hectare plot cultivated with corn and soybeans. The aim was to design an irrigation system that could fit this new configuration while maintaining the plot’s agronomic performance.
Several challenges had to be met:
- Preserving the plot’s agricultural yield, by avoiding any ground-level infrastructure that could reduce the cultivable area or hamper the movement of farm machinery.
- Modernizing irrigation management with a connected, automated solution able to control the equipment remotely and replace manual work on the valves.
- Coordinating irrigation with the movement of the photovoltaic panels, whose orientation changes throughout the day to follow the sun. Irrigation is therefore synchronized with their position, so that water is distributed properly over the crop without wetting the panels.
In this context, a traditional ground-level irrigation system was not an option: it would have been a permanent obstacle to tractors and other equipment, and would have increased the risk of damaging the pipes and sprinklers. This led to a suspended irrigation solution, purpose-built for the demands of agrivoltaics.
Irrigation suspended at 5 meters: the answer to automated agrivoltaic irrigation
To meet this challenge, SOVERDI opted for suspended irrigation: instead of installing the sprinklers at ground level, they were fixed 5 meters up, directly on the photovoltaic structure. This frees up the plot’s soil entirely and lets farm machinery pass without any risk of damaging the irrigation installation.
Here is the technical configuration chosen for the installation:
| Element | Detail | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Sprinklers | 306 units, at 5 m high | Distribute water across the 3 hectares from the photovoltaic structure |
| Valves | 28 | Regulate irrigation by sector |
| Pressure switches | 27 | Detect pressure variations in each sector of the network |
| Pressure sensor | 1, at the network head | Monitors the system’s overall pressure |
| Main water meter | 1 | Measures the volume of water consumed |
| Atlas X devices | 10, interconnected | With the Atlas devices, the valves are controlled remotely and irrigation cycles run automatically according to the defined schedule. Sensor data is centralized on the SPHERAG platform, which supervises the installation in real time, makes it easy to track how it operates and instantly alerts operators in the event of an anomaly. |
The Atlas devices are the interface between the irrigation equipment in the field and the SPHERAG cloud platform. Installed close to the valves, pressure switches and water meters, they carry out the control commands sent remotely (opening, closing and scheduling the valves) while relaying operating data and sensor readings in real time.
On this installation, 10 Atlas X devices control the entire irrigation network from a single interface, providing centralized management, real-time supervision and full automation of operations.
The system also relies on 27 pressure switches spread across the water network. They continuously monitor pressure variations and immediately detect any anomaly, such as a leak, a blockage or a valve failure. The alerts sent through the SPHERAG platform allow for a fast response, limiting both water losses and risks to the crop.
How automated agrivoltaic irrigation works day to day
The entire irrigation system is supervised and controlled remotely from the SPHERAG platform. The operator sets the schedules, durations and sectors to be irrigated, while the Atlas devices automatically carry out the opening and closing of the 28 valves. The data relayed by the water meter, the main pressure sensor and the 27 pressure switches makes it possible to track the state of the water network in real time and to immediately detect any anomaly, such as a pressure drop, a leak or a valve malfunction.
What makes this project distinctive is the synchronization of irrigation with the movement of the dynamic photovoltaic panels. Their tilt changes constantly to optimize solar energy production. If irrigation were triggered at the wrong moment, part of the water would land on the panels instead of the crop, reducing both the effectiveness of the watering and the performance of the photovoltaic installation by encouraging mineral deposits to build up on the modules.
To prevent this, the SPHERAG platform is connected to TSE’s control system through an API. This interface automatically exchanges information about the position of the panels and feeds it into the irrigation strategy. As a result, watering cycles are triggered only when the tilt of the panels ensures an optimal distribution of water over the crop.
This project illustrates SPHERAG’s ability to integrate with third-party systems and respond to specific operational needs. Thanks to its open architecture, the platform draws on external data to automate advanced scenarios, without adding new sensors or developing a custom solution for each project.
Results: irrigation efficiency and agronomic protection beneath the solar canopy
Combining suspended irrigation with automation through Atlas devices delivers:
- Better protection for the installation. Placing the sprinklers 5 meters up removes the risk of damage from passing farm machinery—a common problem with ground-level irrigation systems.
- Time savings and better water management. Remote control of the valves removes the need to travel for manual operations and makes it easier to adjust irrigation to the crop’s real needs.
- Proven compatibility between farming and renewable energy. The project confirms that agricultural production, automated irrigation and photovoltaic energy generation can coexist on the same plot, without any of the three activities limiting the others.
On top of these results come the agronomic benefits of the solar canopy itself. The structure includes dynamic panels that adjust their position according to weather conditions, protecting the crop from climate risks such as extreme heat, frost and hail, while reducing evapotranspiration and the plants’ water stress—helping to save water.
According to data recorded by TSE in 2025 (Amance and Brouchy), the agrivoltaic canopy produced a difference of up to -7 °C at the most extreme moments, -1.4 °C on average during the hottest days, and +2 °C during the coldest nights, compared with uncovered plots.
What kind of installations can this system be applied to?
The suspended, automated irrigation model based on Atlas devices does not depend on a fixed configuration: it adapts to any agrivoltaic installation, whatever the crop. In the project led by TSE and SOVERDI the crops are corn and soybeans on a 3-hectare plot, but the same remote-control logic would work just as well on a smaller plot, with a different crop, or with a different photovoltaic structure—without changing the way the operator manages irrigation from the SPHERAG platform.
This ability to adapt to very different conditions, without making day-to-day operations more complex, makes the model a repeatable and scalable solution.
Sources: TSE Énergie (tse.energy) and SOVERDI.