Solar flax

Juan Antonio knows a lot about farming, he has worked in the agricultural sector all his life. His company supplies natural aromatic plants for food, cosmetics and textiles. His star crop is in fact flax. "To produce good quality flax the most important thing is not to use pesticides, for it to be grown in a healthy environment," explained this sun-tanned farmer cum businessman who appears to be very sure of himself. "I'm sorry but I need to be with the combine harvester, today is a special day in our work".

Today is different. It is harvest day, but not just anywhere. Juan Antonio and his team are going to harvest the first solar flax. He is obviously quite nervous. It is a job that requires precise calculation, but once they have placed the heavy machinery in the corridor of solar panels the engine starts and the magic of a new form of agriculture begins at an industrial level.

"Now I'm here," he shouts. "I'm sorry" he added "but we had to get everything ready before starting. The truth is that the first time we came, when the project was presented to us, we were very concerned regarding the issue of the machinery. In fact on the day they planted, all the teams were here, including the people from the Las Corchas solar plant, those from the CTAEX (National Agrifood Technology Centre) and us. There could not be the slightest deviation, otherwise we risked damaging the panels."

The machinery that is being used for this crop is the same that Juan Antonio uses for all his crops. "It would not make sense if we had to use a different infrastructure, the process would no longer be feasible," he explained.

And judging by how he is talking and the noise caused by the combine harvester in the background, everything has gone well. We can see that Juan Antonio is a true visionary. "When they asked me if I was prepared to meet this challenge, I didn't think twice, I thought it was a brilliant idea. Here I could be certain that nobody would be using pesticides, I would be able to offer a quality product and there would also be added value: It is sustainable, it is solar flax," he said as we walked along beside the combine harvester to keep an eye on it.

We reached the end of a row of panels and then had to continue along another row. This is another of those moments when Juan Antonio had to go and give directions to the person driving the machine, which turned its round and continues with the harvest. In this case, it is flax which will be used to feed animals, especially birds.

It turned slowly until it was facing a new row between the panels and the operation was repeated until it finally finished harvesting the 3 hectares planted with flax at the Las Corchas solar plant located in Carmona (Seville). It has become a benchmark solar plant by undertaking pioneering projects ranging from agrivoltaic agriculture on an industrial scale, to the first solar apiary and land clearance using sheep.

It is quiet again, you can hear the birds singing again and there is a plane passing by. We are near Seville airport. The engine of the combine harvester has been switched off, the machinery is checked as well as the crop harvested. Everyone is smiling, they are all aware that they have written a small chapter in the history of agriculture: Harvesting the first solar flax.