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New Solar Panel Concept Could Help Drive the Transition to Renewable Energy. 'The Independent' reports that researchers believe a new renewable energy concept has the potential to reduce the payback period for solar panels to under five years. The new concept was developed by the University of Lisboa and the Military Academy in Portugal. The team's concept includes building solar farms alongside "shadow friendly" crops through a system known as agrivoltaics, otherwise referred to as Agri-PV. The concept could help the world's efforts to transition to renewable energy sources. According to researchers, the Agri-PV concept creates a: “union between agricultural and energy productions.”. This union could generate more value than solar farms or agricultural production alone. 'The Independent' reports that the concept has gained feasability through the decreasing cost of solar panels and the growing need for new food and energy production. "These projects, besides the fact they increase the production of green energy and reduce the consumption of non-renewable energy sources, also decrease the amount of CO2 released to the atmosphere." "The projects’ payback periods are around four-to-five years and it is concluded that Agri-PV is worth more than only PV or only agriculture productions." Study authors, via 'The Independent'. The team's concept was detailed in a paper published in the journal 'Energy for Sustainable Development’. THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT