In Santiago Xalitzintla, Puebla, a group of rural women have embarked on an innovative initiative to transform some of their maize harvest into cookies for sale. This venture addresses a long-standing issue they have faced: the low prices they receive for their crops. Collaborating with researchers from the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (INAOE), they are now harnessing solar energy to process their food. This facility also supports a biofactory that produces fertilisers for their agricultural endeavours.
Integrating Agriculture and Solar Energy
This initiative is part of TONATIUH, a community project that merges agricultural production with electricity generation on the same land. The technology employed is known as agrivoltaics, which involves integrating solar panels with farming areas, enabling both activities to coexist. Beyond utilising the land, these systems can modify temperature and humidity conditions, reduce water evaporation, and provide some protection to crops against extreme weather phenomena.
The experience in Puebla is part of a broader effort to explore the applications of agrivoltaic technology across Latin America. A report from the Latin American Agrivoltaic Alliance, released in March 2026, identifies at least 27 pilot projects in the region. While these initiatives vary in characteristics and developmental stages, they contribute valuable insights into how solar energy can be integrated into agricultural systems and the conditions necessary for their growth.
Community-Driven Technological Development
TONATIUH began to take shape during the COVID-19 pandemic when the closure of INAOE laboratories prompted researchers to seek new applications for the photovoltaic devices they were studying. Among them was Ismael Cosme Bolaños, a researcher specialising in solar materials and devices, who decided to engage with rural communities to understand their needs that could be addressed through this technology.
The first contact was made with the Xalitzintla por la Tierra and Tierra de Volcanes groups in the Sierra Nevada of Puebla. Over two years, researchers and farmers conducted a territorial diagnosis that revealed three interconnected issues: the impacts of climate change on agricultural production, the lack of technologies tailored to the needs of small producers, and the weakening of community activities.
Cosme explained that changes in rainfall and frost patterns were disrupting the conditions farmers had learned to navigate over generations. Coupled with economic challenges, many families felt compelled to diversify their income sources, while younger generations sought opportunities beyond agriculture.
“Agricultural work is undervalued in society […]. The farmers we work with have other professional activities,” he notes. “They are farmers by tradition, by love, and by conviction to reclaim the land.”
Innovative Practices Emerge
These findings reshaped the initial approach. Rather than merely installing photovoltaic devices, the research team began developing systems in collaboration with farmers, incorporating their agroecological practices and organisational methods. This process led to the concept of photovoltaic agroecology, combining scientific knowledge of energy generation with agricultural techniques focused on soil and natural resource stewardship.
“We (INAOE) do not have a specific research area in agroecology,” Cosme acknowledges, highlighting the essential role of farmer participation.
The first module of TONATIUH was inaugurated on 31 August 2024 in Santiago Xalitzintla. It has an installed capacity of 5 kilowatts and features eight biointensive beds where farmers grow vegetables such as tomatoes, squash, green beans, radishes, coriander, and Swiss chard. Its operation allows for the study of how solar structures interact with crops and the community’s agroecological practices.
Effects of Solar Panels on Crop Growth
Agrivoltaics emerged as an alternative to optimise land use for both food and electricity production, two activities that often compete for space. However, research into these systems has uncovered additional potential applications related to water utilisation, crop protection, and agricultural production.
The shade provided by the panels alters the microclimate, affecting the temperature, humidity, and solar radiation experienced by plants. Under certain conditions, these changes can reduce evaporation and lower irrigation needs. They may also impact the growth and characteristics of certain crops, although outcomes depend on species, climate, and installation configurations.
In Puebla, Cosme’s team is exploring the possibility of combining the conditions created by solar panels with practices aimed at soil restoration. They have installed equipment to monitor variables such as humidity and temperature, alongside conducting periodic analyses of soil conditions. Farmers are also involved in tracking these indicators and evaluating crop performance.
Expanding Productive Activities through Electricity
The electricity generated has facilitated the introduction of new productive activities, one of which is the production of biofertilisers used as an alternative to chemical inputs purchased on the market. As of June 2026, INAOE reported that the biofactory can produce up to 2,000 litres monthly, benefiting 35 family plots of intercropped milpas with fruit trees.
This system also powers a fruit dehydrator and three rural households. Additionally, project participants have begun producing products such as corn cookies, atole flour, jams, and canned fruits, aiming to add value to their harvests and diversify their income streams. Thus, the availability of electricity has opened opportunities for developing productive processes that were previously more challenging to undertake.
Challenges in Knowledge Sharing and Financing
Currently, researchers are assessing costs and performance to determine the conditions for broader implementation. They are also working on improving the electrical installation to incorporate a mill that would enhance food transformation activities.
The expansion of agrivoltaics raises questions about the energy transition and who benefits from it. In a discussion, Luisa Sierra, executive director of the Institute for Development, Energy and Environment (IDEA), stated that systems combining agriculture and solar generation present an opportunity for better land utilisation and addressing local energy needs, especially amidst the growing demand for land due to renewable energy expansion.
Sierra highlighted that although progress has been made in shared benefit mechanisms for large energy projects, some communities near these installations still face challenges in accessing electricity and may rely on diesel generators during supply interruptions. Therefore, she advocates for complementing large-scale generation with decentralised systems tailored to the needs of local inhabitants.
Fostering Local Capacities and Technical Training
This discourse extends to other agrivoltaic initiatives unfolding in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Uruguay. The climatic, agricultural, and social differences across these countries necessitate adapting installations to each context, while also providing opportunities for comparing results and exchanging knowledge among communities regarding their operation, organisation, and utilisation.
Currently, IDEA and the Mexican Climate Initiative are engaging in dialogue with the Climate and Society Institute in Brazil to promote exchanges between communities developing agrivoltaic projects and other energy initiatives. “The value and knowledge possessed by communities and the experience of these projects are immense,” she noted. The proposal aims to strengthen local capacities so that communities can structure their projects and share their learnings with others without relying indefinitely on external institutions.
Such cooperation might extend to experiences utilising other renewable sources. Sierra mentioned the Dominican Republic, where some communities with small-scale hydroelectric systems are exploring the integration of solar energy to combat drought effects. Although these exchanges are still in the planning stages, they would enable the gathering of knowledge derived from various technologies and environmental conditions.
Overcoming Financial and Regulatory Hurdles
To scale these experiences, financing remains a key challenge. While philanthropic resources have contributed to driving pilot projects, research, and collaborative networks, Luisa Sierra asserts the need to develop financial instruments that acknowledge the economic and organisational characteristics of rural communities.
For instance, during an exercise to identify potential community energy projects in two regions of Mexico, more than 200 initiatives were identified that could require support. While not all correspond to agrivoltaic systems, many have productive activities capable of generating income but struggle to access credit or investment tailored to their circumstances.
“They do not require a paternalistic approach, but rather recognition that our current systems are not generating the necessary conditions for these projects to thrive,” the IDEA director stated. She also critiqued the application of commercial and development banking mechanisms that treat projects with distinct economic and social characteristics similarly, ignoring their organisational forms, productive capacities, and investment recovery potential.
In addition to developing financial and regulatory instruments, both experts argue for the necessity of enhancing technical training and sharing results from previous experiences so that other communities can evaluate which solutions meet their needs.
In Puebla, one of the most notable changes for Cosme is observed among younger generations: “The children who began with us in the first year are now teenagers, and these teenagers have been sustaining the project from the technological side.”
For the researcher, this interest represents a significant advancement in addressing one of the concerns identified during the initial diagnosis, regarding how youth were distancing themselves from agriculture whenever possible. Although he acknowledges the complexity of these issues, he believes that the experience has begun to open new avenues for participation.
“A technology alone will not resolve these problems; it is the community process that is addressing these issues, supported by or in conjunction with technology developed by them,” concludes Cosme.