Community shared solar is a new and growing model for broadening local solar markets and extending the benefits of solar energy to new customers. By expanding access to solar energy, community shared solar can be a useful tool for San Francisco and other jurisdictions that seek to expand use of distributed, local solar power. To help educate stakeholders, including other Rooftop Solar Challenge partners and other cities, this paper discusses: (1) the basics of community shared solar; (2) the benefits of community shared solar; (3) variations in design of community shared solar programs; (4) examples of community shared solar program; (5) California’s regulatory context; and (6) community shared solar’s potential to expand San Francisco’s solar market. Community shared solar could also improve San Francisco’s solar market by enabling more San Francisco residents and businesses to invest in solar energy. The majority of San Francisco residents live in multi-family buildings, rent, or both: two-thirds of residential units are in multi-family buildings and 60% of San Francisco households rent. Community shared solar would allow renters and others who cannot install solar onsite to purchase solar energy for their home or business.
Worldwide, water is becoming scarcer and more expensive due to the effects of climate change. Significant adaptation will be necessary to ensure adequate supply and efficient use of a diminishing resource. This reduction in the supply of water will affect agriculture and will require a change in focus from increasing productivity of land to increasing productivity per unit of water consumed.
Community-based Stormwater Strategies and Vegetation Management for Sustainable Solar PV Development
Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is being deployed at an unprecedented rate. To this end, we investigated critical soil physical and chemical parameters at a revegetated photovoltaic array and an adjacent reference grassland in Colorado, United States.
This study, performed by a research group that includes AgriSolar Clearinghouse partners Greg-Barron Gafford and Jordan Macknick, describes an integrative approach for the investigation of the co-location of solar photovoltaics and crops, and the potential for co-located agrivoltaic crops in drylands as a solution for the food-energy-water nexus impacts from climate change.
The research focused on three common agricultural species that represent different adaptive niches for dryland environments: chiltepin pepper, jalapeño, and cherry tomato. The researchers created an agrivoltaic system by planting these species under a PV array—3.3m off the ground at the lowest end and at a tilt of 32°—to capture the physical and biological impacts of this approach. Throughout the average three-month summer growing season, researchers monitored incoming light levels, air temperature and relative humidity continuously using sensors mounted 2.5m above the soil surface, and soil surface temperature and moisture at 5-cm depth. Both the traditional planting area (control) and agrivoltaic system received equal irrigation rates, with two irrigation scenarios—daily irrigation and irrigation every 2ays.
The researchers found that shading from the PV panels can provide multiple additive and synergistic benefits, including reduced plant drought stress, greater food production and reduced PV panel heat stress. The agrivoltaic system conditions impacted every aspect of plant activity, though results and significance varied by species. The total fruit production was twice as great under the PV panels of the agrivoltaic system than in the traditional growing environment
Cumulative CO2 uptake was 65% greater in the agrivoltaic installation than in the traditional growing area. Water use efficiency was also 65% greater, indicating that water loss to transpiration was equal between the treatment areas. The increased productivity in the agrivoltaic system is probably due to an alleviation of multiple stress interactions from heat and atmospheric drought.
Because PV panels are sensitive to temperature, the cooling of panels below daytime temperatures of 30 °C positively impacts their efficiency. In this study, researchers found that the PV panels in a traditional ground-mounted array were significantly warmer during the day and experienced greater within-day variation than those over an agrivoltaic understory. Researchers attribute these lower daytime temperatures in the PV panels in the agrivoltaic system to a greater balance of latent heat energy exchange from plant transpiration relative to sensible heat exchange from radiation from bare soil. Across the core growing season, PV panels in an agrivoltaic system were ~8.9+0.2 °C cooler in daylight hours. This reduction in temperature can lead to an increase in PV system performance. Using the system advisor model (SAM) for a traditional and a colocation PV system in Tucson, AZ, researchers calculated that impact from temperature reductions from the agrivoltaic system would lead to a 3% increase in generation over summer months and a 1% increase in generation annually.
These results show the additive benefits of agrivoltaics, to both crop production and energy production, as well as the impacts to ecosystem services such as local climate regulation, water conservation, and drought resiliency.
This guide provides information that can assist both lenders and consumers in financing solar energy systems, which include both solar electric (photovoltaic) and solar thermal systems. It also includes information about other ways to make solar energy systems more affordable, as well as descriptions of special mortgage programs for energy-efficient homes.
The program provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. Agricultural producers may also apply for new energy efficient equipment and new system loans for agricultural production and processing.
This document is the first of a three-volume series designed to support electric cooperatives as they explore and pursue utility-scale, utility-owned solar PV deployments. It includes examples of business models for implementing utility-scale solar projects including details of full and partial ownership.
This paper discusses that the HomeStyle Energy mortgage loan is designed to support homeowners efforts to increase energy and water efficiency and reduce utility costs as well as create home resiliency for environmental disasters or to repair damage from such disasters. The document shows that HomeStyle Energy may be a more affordable financing solution than a subordinate lien, home equity line of credit, Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loan, or unsecured loan.
This paper explores elements of on-bill financing program design and provides several examples of on-bill products and services. It includes provisions and precautions for equitable programs and describes important financing program design elements.
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Harvesting the Sun, the Agrisolar Short Film, is Available Now!March 20, 2024 - 5:52 pm
Case Study: Alaska AgrivoltaicsMarch 20, 2024 - 10:07 am
