Agrivoltaic

Agrivoltaics is co-developing the same area of land for both solar photovoltaic power as well as for conventional agriculture.[1] This technique was originally conceived by Adolf Goetzberger and Armin Zastrow in 1981.[2] The coexistence of solar panels and crops implies a sharing of light between these two types of production.

History

In 1981, Adolf Goetzberger and Armin Zastrow were the first to propose the concept of a dual use of arable land for solar energy production and plant cultivation in order to improve overall production.[2] They were addressing the ongoing discussion on the competition for the use of arable land between solar energy production and crop. The light saturation point is the maximum amount of photons absorbable by a plant species. As more photons won’t increase to the rate of photosynthesis, Akira Nagashima suggest to combine PV systems and farming to use the excess of light. He developed the first prototypes in Japan in 2004.[3]

The term “agrivoltaic“ was used for the first time in a publication in 2011.[4] The concept is known under several names in the world: "agrophotovoltaics" in Germany,[5][6] "agrovoltaics" in Italy,[7][8] "solar sharing" in Asia.[3][9] Facilities such as photovoltaic greenhouses can be considered as agrivoltaic systems.

Methods

There are three types of Agrivoltaics that are being actively researched: solar arrays with space between for crops, stilted solar array above crops and greenhouse solar array.[1] All three of these systems have several variables used to maximize solar energy absorbed in both the panels and the crops. The main variable taken into account for agrivoltaic systems is the angle of the solar panels-called the tilt angle. Other variables taken into account for choosing the location of the agrivoltaic system are the crops chosen, height of the panels, solar irradiation in the area and climate of the area.[1]

Effects

The solar panels of Agrivoltaics affects crops and land they cover in ways more than providing shade. Two ways are affecting water flow and heat. They also allow for more revenue per acre to be created.[1] For example, grape farms with appropriate spacing could increase revenue 15 times.[10]

Water Flow

In experiments testing evaporation levels under PVP for shade resistant crops cucumbers and lettuce watered by irrigation, a 14-29% savings in evaporation was found.[1] Agrivoltaics could be used for crops or areas where water efficiency is imperative.[1]

Heat

A study was done on the heat of the land, air and crops under solar panels for a growing season. It was found that while the air beneath the panels stayed consistent, the land and plants had lower temperatures recorded.[1] With rising temperature from climate change this may become important for some food crops.[11]

Advantages

Simulations and studies on Agrivoltaics indicate electricity and shade-resistant crop production do not decrease in productivity, allowing both to be simultaneously produced efficiently. Dinesh et al. found lettuce output was found to be comparable in Agrivoltaics to monocultures. Agrivoltaics work best for plants that are shade resistant, with potential functioning crops being "hog peanut, alfalfa, yam, taro, cassava, sweet potato" along with lettuce.[1] Simulations performed by Dupraz et al. found the potential of land productivity to increase by 60-70%.[1] Furthermore, Dinesh et al. found that the value of solar generated electricity coupled to shade-tolerant crop production created an over 30% increase in economic value from farms deploying agrivoltaic systems instead of conventional agriculture.[12] It has been postulated that Agrivoltaics would be beneficial for summer crops for the microclimate they create and the side effect of heat and water flow control.[13]

Disadvantages

Shade resistant crops are not typically grown in industrial agricultural systems.[1] For instance, wheat crops do not fare well in a low light environment, meaning they would not work with Agrivoltaics.[1] Agrivoltaics do not yet work with greenhouses. Greenhouses with half of the roof covered in panels were simulated, and the resulting crop output reduced by 64% and panel productivity reduced by 84%.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Dinesh, Harshavardhan; Pearce, Joshua M. "The potential of agrivoltaic systems". Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 54: 299–308. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2015.10.024.
  2. 1 2 GOETZBERGER, A.; ZASTROW, A. (1982-01-01). "On the Coexistence of Solar-Energy Conversion and Plant Cultivation". International Journal of Solar Energy. 1 (1): 55–69. Bibcode:1982IJSE....1...55G. doi:10.1080/01425918208909875. ISSN 0142-5919.
  3. 1 2 "Japan Next-Generation Farmers Cultivate Crops and Solar Energy". www.renewableenergyworld.com. Retrieved 2017-09-11.
  4. ↑ Dupraz, C.; Marrou, H.; Talbot, G.; Dufour, L.; Nogier, A.; Ferard, Y. "Combining solar photovoltaic panels and food crops for optimising land use: Towards new agrivoltaic schemes". Renewable Energy. 36 (10): 2725–2732. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2011.03.005.
  5. ↑ Schindele, Stefan (2013). "Combining Pv And Food Crops To Agrophotovoltaic–Optimization Of Orientation And Harvest". 13th IAEE European Conference.
  6. ↑ "APV Resola". APV Resola (in German). Retrieved 2017-09-11.
  7. ↑ "Agrovoltaico, equilibrio perfetto | Rinnovabili". www.rinnovabili.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2017-09-11.
  8. ↑ "Agrovoltaico - Rem Tec". Rem Tec. Retrieved 2017-09-11.
  9. ↑ "Japanese Farmers Producing Crops and Solar Energy Simultaneously". www.i-sis.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-09-11.
  10. ↑ Malu, Prannay R.; et al. "Agrivoltaic potential on grape farms in India". Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments. 23: 104–110. doi:10.1016/j.seta.2017.08.004.
  11. ↑ Kaushal, Neeru; Bhandari, Kalpna; Siddique, Kadambot H.M.; Nayyar, Harsh. "Food crops face rising temperatures: An overview of responses, adaptive mechanisms, and approaches to improve heat tolerance". Cogent Food & Agriculture. 2 (1). doi:10.1080/23311932.2015.1134380.
  12. ↑ Harshavardhan Dinesh, Joshua M. Pearce, The potential of agrivoltaic systems, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 54, 299-308 (2016).
  13. ↑ Dupraz, C. "To mix or not to mix : evidences for the unexpected high productivity of new complex agrivoltaic and agroforestry systems" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-04-14.
  14. ↑ Castellano, Sergio (2014-12-21). "Photovoltaic greenhouses: evaluation of shading effect and its influence on agricultural performances". Journal of Agricultural Engineering. 45 (4): 168–175. doi:10.4081/jae.2014.433. ISSN 2239-6268.
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