Stanford University engineers have announced that they have developed a new type of solar cell capable of generating electricity not just during the day but also at night, according to a recent report by National Public Radio. The new technology includes a device that incorporates a thermoelectric generator, pulling electricity from “the small difference […]
AgriSolar Clearinghouse Visits Biosphere 2 “The AgriSolar Clearinghouse is taking a national tour of operational agrivoltaic operations, sharing knowledge, and bringing attention to a practice with numerous (and perhaps unexpected) benefits. The first stop on the tour is the agrivoltaic array at Biosphere 2, a research center run by the University of Arizona. Biosphere 2 […]
Vermont Farm Shows Benefits of Grazing Sheep on Solar Farms A report by North American Clean Energy reveals the benefits of grazing sheep on solar farms. The sheep are small enough to graze under the panels, which are sometimes hard to reach with maintenance equipment and often damaged by cows. Unlike goats, sheep are unlikely […]
Indiana communities can now voluntarily adopt regulations qualifying them as solar and wind-ready communities, according to a recent news story by PV Magazine. This change is expected to create thousands of jobs in the clean energy industry, cut development times, and lower overall costs. Sean Brady, Clean Grid Alliance’s State Policy Manager, told PV Magazine, […]
This resource discusses components of managed grazing such as: historical herbivore effects on grasslands, limitations of past research, managing grazing to restore ecological function and management tactics used to achieve sustainable finance goals. All of these considerations relate to aspects of developing AgriSolar operations that include grazing and a need for grazing strategies. Scientists partnering with farmers and ranchers around the world who have improved their land resource base and excel financially have documented how such land managers produce sound environmental, social, and economic outcomes. Many of these producers have used Adaptive Multi-Paddock (AMP) grazing management as a highly effective approach for managing their grazing lands sustainably.
Massachusetts Farmer Identifies Agrivoltaic Benefits Northfield, Massachusetts, farmer Jesse Robertson-Dubois is identifying benefits of integrating agrivoltaics into farm operations, according to a news release by the Daily Hampshire Gazette. Dubois elaborates on the misconceptions that solar integration into farmland destroys the land and that developer’s “prey” on landowners. Dubois says that not only does this […]
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced a $10 million funding opportunity for “innovative solutions and strategies that maximize benefits and minimize impacts to wildlife and ecosystems from solar energy infrastructure, ” according to a news release by the Solar Energy Technologies Office. The Deploying Solar with Wildlife and Ecosystem Benefits (SolWEB) will fund projects […]
Agrivoltaics have been shown to contribute to achieving energy and food goals simultaneously through combining agricultural production with energy production, according to a recent report by Clean Technica. The report finds that global agrivoltaic energy production has grown from 5MW in 2012 to 2,900 MW in 2020. The diverse options available through agrivoltaics can create […]
Trials Reveal benefits of Utilizing Agrivoltaic Systems Research trials conducted by a collaboration between the University of Sheffield, World Agroforestry and the Latia Agripreneurship Institute have shown that agrivoltaic practices result in larger crops and reduced water loss, according to a recent report by The Guardian. The report explains that solar panels located above the […]
This study discusses the analytics of tracking and backtracking for PV plants with various trackers after being converter to agrisolar plants or operations. Some of the details included in this report are: astronomical considerations, hedgerow crop height, tracking axis’s with and without crops, daily incidental radiation and solar declination, among other topics. These results could be used for implementing new strategies in future agrisolar operations.
