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Imagine that you are a farmer and it is difficult to meet production needs due to the increasingly tight climate. Or you are a producer of renewable energy, fighting fierce heat and weather. As temperatures rise, solar panels become too hot to work properly, and crops require more water. Drought and climatic conditions exacerbate these problems.
University of Arizona associate professor Greg Barron-Gards (barron-gds) said that combining solar panel (photovoltaic) infrastructure and agriculture systems can create a mutually beneficial relationship. This practice of placing the two at the same time by planting crops under the shadow of solar panels is called agrivoltaics.
Barron Garford said that in an agricultural integrated power generation system, the environment under the solar panels is much cooler in summer and can be kept warm in winter. This not only reduces the rate of evaporation of irrigation water in summer, but also means that plants will not be so stressed. Crops grown under lower drought stress require less water, and because they are less likely to wither due to high temperatures at noon, they can photosynthesize longer and grow more efficiently.
In the southwestern United States, where the sun is abundant, the main method of installing solar panels is to pack them densely into a place. Barron Garford ’s research on the benefits of agrivoltaics did not change this density, but simply raised the panel to grow the crop in an almost completely cool place. It is super interesting that he explained that we can reduce the direct sunlight on the plants by 75%, but there is still a lot of diffuse light, which makes the plants grow well.
Barron Garford and his team collaborated with farmers through the university ’s extension office, and also collaborated with community farm colleagues in the Tucson area to design the pilot field. The current Agri photovoltaic cell test field covers an area of ​​about 165 square meters, but in the coming year, a larger experimental device will be developed on the farm. They also work closely with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to strive for consistency in developing joint installation plans.
Farmers also help researchers decide on experimental crops. Every spring and autumn, they grow beans, tomatoes and several types of peppers. They grow high-value herbs and spices, which shows that the intention to choose crops that do not grow well under typical conditions, but now grow well under the shadow of solar panels, may bring potential additional profits.
They also try to grow green leafy vegetables such as beets, lettuce, kale, etc. These seem to grow better in this system. In strong light environments, the leaves of plants tend to be smaller, which is to adapt to excessive sunlight, thereby inhibiting the photosynthesis system. In low-light environments, plants will grow larger leaves to disperse the chlorophyll that absorbs sunlight, allowing more light to be converted into energy. The researchers found in their experiments that the leaves of basil plants grow larger, the leaves of kale grow longer and wider, and the leaves of beets grow larger. This is the key to these crops because farmers harvest the leaves of these plants.
Solar panels themselves also benefit from this collaborative environment. Where there is plenty of sunlight and the temperature exceeds 75 degrees Fahrenheit (24 degrees Celsius), solar panels start to perform poorly because they become too hot. The water evaporated from the crops will produce a local cooling effect, thereby reducing the thermal stress of the overhead solar panel and improving the performance of the solar panel. In short, this is a win-win relationship between food, water and energy.
Barron Garford explained that when harvesting crops, this is not really a big problem, because farmers can use many of the same equipment. We raised the panel to a low of about 3 meters (10 feet) from the ground, so that a typical tractor can enter the field. This is the first thing that farmers in the area say, they must consider any kind of agricultural photovoltaic system in the appropriate place.
The main disadvantage of agricultural photovoltaic power generation systems is the need for additional steel, which increases the cost of the system, but Barron Garford believes that increased food production and water conservation will offset these additional investments. He said: "I think the main reason why more and more manufacturers are not using this system is that they lack awareness of the potential of this system."
Now that there is evidence of the potential benefits of this relationship between agriculture and photovoltaic power generation, the research team is looking for more effective ways to co-locate. For example, they want to experiment with solar panels that can move completely vertically, letting tractors pass through rows of panels to reach the soil and crops, without raising the panels at all.
Nonetheless, Barron Garford said farmers do not need to wait for this future design, nor do solar companies. Now to profit from agricultural photovoltaics, they only need to raise the masts that support the rows of panels.
He added that this is part of the reason why this work is so exciting, and a small change in the plan can bring huge benefits!
(Originally from: Daily Science China New Energy Network Synthesis)
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