Pistachio’s profitability comes after years and the sun pays from the first lease contract

In Carmona (Seville), up to 28 solar projects advance on land that, until recently, were sown with cereal, pipes or chickpeas. The boom of photovoltaic in this municipality is not only attracting energy investment, but also transforming the rural landscape and the local economy. This was reported by the farmer José Portillo In a report of the Research Team Program. The most striking of his case is the economic jump: for each hectare of dry land he obtained just about 100 euros a year; Now, leased to a solar plant, it brings 1,900 euros.

This is not an isolated case. With contracts from 20 to 30 years and stable profitability, More and more farmers wonder If the future of the field goes to continue cultivating or capturing the sun. And the answer is that it is within the usual: According to the Eave installation companyIn 2024 the average rental price for photovoltaic projects ranged between 1,000 and 2,000 euros per hectare. Of course, not any farm is suitable: soils are needed for energy use, overcome environmental and hydraulic procedures and, above all, have a point of connection to the electricity grid with sufficient capacity.

From the grain to the kilowatt. Official numbers help contextualize the dilemma. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, In your Agricultural Income 2024 – 2nd estimate (March 2025)Spanish agricultural income grew by 11.2 % in 2024, driven by cereal recovery (+38.9 %), The olive oil rebound (+34.3 %) and the decrease in feed costs (−19.5 %) and fertilizers (−23.3 %).

But that average bonanza is not distributed the same on all plots. The National Agrarian Accounting Network (Recan) shows that in extensive crops of drying the benefits are usually very small, while In intensive accounts change. The olive grove can generate between 3,000 and 4,000 euros per hectare per year; The Almendro in Seto recovers the investment in about five years, and the pistachio reaches yields of 5,000 to 8,000 euros per hectare in full maturity.

In short, everything depends on what the farm is dedicated. In cereal dryland, the solar lease far multiplies the usual benefits. In more technified crops, figures can approach or even exceed the profitability of photovoltaic, although at the expense of assuming higher investments, agronomic risks and price volatility. The sun, in any case, has become an economic competitor of the traditional field.

A third way: self -consumption. Not everything goes for renting the ground. Another option is that it is the farmer himself who installs panels to reduce their energy costs. According to the Renewable APPA reportSpain already has more than 8,585 MW of self -consumption, 73 % of them in industrial projects, which covered 3.7 % of national demand.

Savings is not less: APPA and EDP Energy They estimate that each KW installed is € 157 less per year in homes and € 101 in industries. Field translated: an irrigation exploitation with a 100 kW installation could save around 10,000 euros per year in electricity, more if it adds batteries and adapts consumption to sun hours.

An intermediate formula. Between white and black the agrovoltaic arises: producing electricity while growing. Researchers from the University of Córdoba (2024) They have demonstrated that in olive groves in hedge it is viable to install high plates that optimize radiation for both trees and solar modules, without losing olives. International examples also point in that direction: Italian wineries that They have improved the quality of wine Under the shadow of panels or farms in Australia where even the wool of the sheep It was of higher quality.

Looking for the combination. The future of the Spanish field may not consist in choosing between sun or land, but in combining them. In the agrarian Spain of 2025, one hectare is no longer measured only in kilos of cereal or liters of oil, but also in kilowatts. With an agricultural income that rebounds thanks to cereal and olive grove, the photovoltaic rent offers many farmers a stable income difficult to match in low profitability areas. Between panels, olive groves and batteries, the future is probably mixed – and will depend, as always, on the ground, the sun and of the network.

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