Insolight, the Swiss company founded in 2015 by engineers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), seeks to position itself at the intersection of solar energy and agricultural production. Based in Lausanne, it develops agrivoltaic projects that aim to balance crop protection with photovoltaic generation, maximizing the use of agricultural land without compromising agronomic yield.

“Our approach is based on analyzing the microclimate under the modules to understand how it affects agricultural productivity,” highlights Laurent Coulot, CEO and co-founder of the company, in a conversation with Strategic Energy Europe.

The company currently has a pipeline of 200 megawatts under development across Switzerland, France, and Italy. According to Coulot, this year they are focused on bringing as many projects as possible to the “ready-to-build” stage.

“Our goal is to reach 1 gigawatt of built projects by 2032,” he anticipates. For this year, the company aims to acquire an additional 300 MWp, consolidating its growth across the continent.

Regarding geographical expansion, the next markets to explore will be for instance Germany and the Czech Republic, where land use competition and energy demand create a favorable environment for dual-use solutions.

The CEO asserts that Insolight’s value proposition lies in its agronomic know-how, based on modeling variables such as temperature, humidity, and light in real time. “We can simulate the microclimate and, based on that data, predict crop yield with or without an agrivoltaic installation,” Coulot states. This system not only guides design decisions but becomes a predictive tool to assess the technical and economic viability of each project.

A modular catalog for diverse crops

Insolight’s vision is to maximize the efficiency of agricultural land use without compromising productive performance. Its competitive edge lies in the ability to adapt projects to local contexts, with solutions based on microclimatic data and a scalable modular structure.

“The market needs to stabilize, grow, and see real installations built. We want to show concrete results and grow from there. Even as a small company, we’re among the ones building the most in advanced agrivoltaics,” concludes Coulot.

In the agronomic field, they have the necessary technology to evaluate different installation implementations and the microclimate—such as temperature, light, and humidity—and based on that, simulate to determine a specific site.

The core of their proposal is called Insolagrin, a portfolio of technical solutions adapted to various crop types: berries, orchards, vegetables, and field crops. Far from being a one-size-fits-all system, it is a modular set of structures and configurations tailored to the type of production, local climate, and farmer needs.

“The added value is not always the same. We adapt the solution according to the country or crop type, whether it’s row spacing, structure height, or dynamic light control systems,” explains the CEO. Among the most requested add-ons are gutters, additional sensors, and mobile components to optimize radiation.

In all cases, the design starts from an agronomic objective: to reach minimum light thresholds and ensure protection against climatic events such as hail, spring frosts, or excessive heat. The combination of these factors enables a true synergy between agricultural production and energy generation.

Regulatory obstacles in Europe

Despite the sector’s growth, regulatory frameworks still represent a bottleneck for the mass deployment of agrivoltaics. Projects must comply with both traditional solar development requirements and additional agronomic demands, increasing technical and bureaucratic complexity and causing delays in ready-to-build procedures.

“These are heavier projects with slower procedures because you have to submit complete agronomic analyses to the regulators. Also, in many countries, there are still no clear standards,” stresses Coulot.

This regulatory void creates uncertainty for investors, especially in countries where laws change frequently, as the CEO points out. In his view, the market needs stability and a greater proportion of built projects versus those merely accumulated in pipelines.

Terawatt potential and a global outlook

From Insolight’s perspective, the growth potential is enormous. In Western Europe alone, considering crops that already require protection with plastics or hail nets (like berries and orchards), the potential reaches the terawatt scale.

“Photosynthesis is the same everywhere in the world, which is why we can extrapolate our models to many species and regions,” affirms Coulot. This technical scalability has attracted interest beyond Europe, with new agrivoltaic policies in China and regulatory developments in the U.S. and Asia.

The company closely monitors the steps of major economies. “A few years ago, no one was talking about agrivoltaics. Today, it’s a global topic. The United States and China are integrating policies and projects. And Europe must stay committed to decarbonization by 2050,” says the executive.