This report reveals that increasing the sustainability of food production will require development of new mixed-use technologies. Also discussed is that novel electricity-generating windows (Wavelength-Selective Photovoltaic Systems, WSPVs) are suitable for use in greenhouses for growing plants. Results show minimal lasting effects of growth under WSPVs on plant physiology and development, thus WSPVs represent a new wedge for decarbonizing the food system.
This AgriSolar Best Practices Guide is intended to assist farmers, PV developers, regulators, and other stakeholders in developing high quality Agrisolar projects. The guide provides Best Practices for Agri-PV systems, PV on agricultural buildings, and open-field applications. Also included in this guide are discussions of trends and innovations in the AgriSolar community. This guide defines the key actions required of all parties involved in project development to maximize the sustainability of Agrisolar projects, from an agronomical, ecological, and financial perspective.
This study assessed the climate conditions inside a greenhouse in which 50% of the roof area was replaced with photovoltaic (PV) modules, describing the solar radiation distribution and the variability of temperature and humidity. The distribution of the solar radiation observed in this study is useful for choosing the most suitable crops and for designing PV greenhouses with the attitude for both energy and crop production. The study also includes suggestions for a better agronomic sustainability of agrivoltaic systems.
The long-term analysis in this study demonstrated a good capability of the numerical model to predict the shading effect inside a photovoltaic greenhouse combining the daily calculated exposed percentage with measurements of solar radiation. Photon flux daily values inside a PV greenhouse were calculated and measured from April 18th to June 8th in 2014. Commercial software was used to calculate the exposed percentage values for the greenhouse being studied. This study shows that modern software can be utilized in optimizing PV greenhouse operations.
Overall, this study demonstrated that the use of semi-transparent OPVs as a seasonal shade element for greenhouse production in a high-light region is feasible. However, a higher transmission of PAR and greater OPV device efficiency and durability could make OPV shades more economically viable, providing a desirable solution for co-located greenhouse crop production and renewable energy generation in hot and high-light intensity regions.
The PV–TEG hybrid system is widely discussed nowadays as an alternative way to maximize solar-radiation energy, which is from both light and heat. This study explains the electro-thermal effects that occur in series and parallel arrays of TEG that are exposed to non-uniform temperature gradients, and included three experiments: individual preliminary tests for thermoelectric module-type selections, series and parallel array configurations, and sampling on PV-TEG hybrid applications. The results of these experiments can be used as a tool for optimizing the design and development of components of agrisolar operations.
This guide is a compilation of energy and water efficiency, renewable energy, and resilience best practices at United States Forest Service (USFS) nurseries and seed-extractory facilities. This guide could serve as a tool for aiding agrivoltaic operations that include these types of plants and nurseries.
This study investigated the feasibility of a greenhouse roof with an integrated semi- transparent PV-blind system to provide moderate shading conditions to greenhouse crops along with simultaneous electrical energy generation. The results in this study can be used to optimize variations of agrivoltaic operations and their development in the future.
This study shows that adding semitransparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs) to a greenhouse structure enables simultaneous plant cultivation and electricity generation, thereby reducing the greenhouse energy demand. To lower the energy footprint of greenhouses, there has been growing interest in integrating solar cells onto the greenhouse structure. In this approach, a portion of light is captured by the solar cells to generate power, while the remaining light transmits into the greenhouse for crop production. The results of this study can benefit development of agrivoltaic operations by maximizing the amount of sunlight reaching plants grown in greenhouses.
This article aims to demonstrate the viability of a greenhouse that integrates, as a novelty, semi-transparent amorphous silicon photovoltaic (PV) glass (a-Si), covering the entire roof surface and the main sides of the greenhouse.
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