Long term social impact powered by renewable energy
Youth Power Ventures (YPV) uses blended finance to develop agrivoltaic solar parks that produce clean power, support sustainable agriculture, create dignified jobs, and fulfil the unrealized promise of the social enterprise - to create financially viable enterprises that use market-based approaches to address global challenges at scale.
582
Million
people remain trapped in a cycle of hunger and malnutrition
692
Million
people live below the poverty line
60
2
GtCO e
must be reduced to 32 GtCO2e per year to stay within 1.5C degrees from pre-industrial temperatures
The Global Challenge
What is Agrivoltaics?
At its simplest, agrivoltaics (AV) is the practice of combining solar energy production with agriculture on the same piece of land. For decades, the world viewed energy and food as a zero-sum game: if you wanted a massive solar farm, you had to sacrifice fertile cropland. This "food vs. fuel" conflict has led to land grabs and the displacement of rural communities.
Agrivoltaics flips this script. By elevating solar panels high enough to let tractors pass underneath or spacing them out to allow for grazing and intercropping, we can harvest two crops at once: food and sunlight. This concept was first proposed in 1981 by German researchers and later popularized in Japan as "solar sharing." Today, it is recognized as a cornerstone of the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) nexus, solving land scarcity while protecting the environment.
Why it Matters: The Science of Synergy
For those of us without an engineering degree, the benefits of agrivoltaics can be summarized in three words: protection, efficiency, and conservation.
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Protection from Extremes: In a world of volatile climate change, solar panels act as a shield. They protect delicate crops from high temperatures, intense heatwaves, and even devastating hailstorms.
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Water Conservation: In dryland regions, the shade from panels can reduce soil water evaporation by up to 40%. This means we can produce "more crop per drop," a vital advantage in areas facing water scarcity.
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The Cooling Effect: Plants actually help the solar panels too! Through a process called evapotranspiration, plants release moisture that cools the surrounding air. This can reduce the temperature of the panels by up to 10°C, making them more efficient at generating electricity.
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We measure this combined success using the Land Equivalent Ratio (LER). If a farm produces 80% of its usual crops and 80% of the energy of a standard solar farm on the same plot, its LER is 1.6—meaning it is 60% more productive than if those two activities were separated.
Our Value Add
YPV principals bring world-class social enterprise leadership, deep technical delivery experience, and on-the-ground operating expertise in exactly the domains needed to turn agrivoltaics into large-scale, community-owned benefit. The team has already built organizations serving millions of the most vulnerable families and mobilized billions of dollars for high-impact work in rural communities.
Dual expertise in solar infrastructure and agriculture, including crop selection and yield optimization
Governance and public private partnership expertise, aligning government priorities, community interests, and private capital within bankable project structures
Backed by a team of experts researchers in design of agrivoltaic systems that balance energy output with food production
Blended finance structuring to make projects investable and scalable
Local partnership models that transfer skills, ownership, and long-term value to communities
End-to-end stewardship, from land assessment to long-term operation
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582
a minimum of a net-doubling of farmer profit per planted acre
692
jobs enabled over 20 years
60
GtCO e
2
reduction per 20MW in 20 years
Impact Metrics
Our SDG Alignment
The work is directly aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. YPV contributes to SDG 7, Affordable and Clean Energy, through community centered renewable energy solutions, including agrivoltaic and distributed solar applications. It advances SDG 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth, by integrating youth employment pathways and skills development into infrastructure and energy projects. Through innovation driven deployment models, it supports SDG 9, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, while its climate oriented design contributes to SDG 13, Climate Action. Equally important is SDG 17, Partnerships for the Goals, as YPV’s core function is to structure cross sector collaboration that unlocks blended finance and catalytic investment.
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