Tag Archive for: AgriSolar

DOE Announces Solar Funding Opportunity

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 that will facilitate ground-mounted solar-energy production compatible with wildlife, as well as projects that assess and optimize ecosystem benefits provided by solar energy, said the news release.

DOE anticipates two to three awards at $1.2 million for Wildlife-Solar Energy Interactions projects, and two to four awards at $500,000-$2 million for Ecosystem Services from Solar Facilities projects.

The funding will assist in achieving goals established by the Biden Administration, which include decarbonizing the electricity sector by 2035.

Find more information on this funding opportunity and details about how to submit a request here.

AgriSolar News Roundup: New Research, Project Nexus, Connecticut Projects Expand

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 crops can aid people with limited land resources by doubling the land’s output through cultivating food and generating power at the same time.

The “Mother of All” Agrivoltaic Projects Moves Forward in California

A report by Clean Technica has announced that the “Mother of All” agrivoltaic projects, Project Nexus, is scheduled to begin in California. The project includes constructing solar canopies over irrigation canals, which will highlight benefits of the symbiotic relationship between energy and water management. According to the report, the project could save 63 billion gallons of water per year, enough water to meet the irrigation demands of 50,000 acres of agricultural land.

Winners of Iberdrola Energy Contest Announced

Iberdrola, an energy company located in Spain, has announced the winners of its international Perseo startup program contest. The winners are the France-based companies Itk and Ombrea, Italian software company Techedge, and EcoEnergias del Guadiana, according to PV Magazine’s recent news release. The contest aimed to identify innovative approaches to combining agriculture, horticulture, livestock, fish-farming, and beekeeping with solar PV operations, according to the news release.

Connecticut’s Greenskies Solar Facilities Approved to Expand Agrivoltaics Operations

Two of Connecticut’s Greenskies Clean Energy solar facilities have been approved by the Connecticut Siting Council to move forward with expanding their agrivoltaic practices, according to a news report by PV Magazine. The solar farms are in East Windsor, CT and Orange, CT. The East Windsor farm will begin grazing sheep under solar panels, and the farm in Orange will grow organic vegetables between row of the solar modules.

French President Identifies Solar as Solution to Reach Energy Goals

French president Emmanuel Macron recently identified solar and agrivoltaics as a solution to reach France’s energy goals by 2050, according to PV Magazine. France aims to produce 100GW by 2050 and identifies agrivoltaics as one of the “three pillars” of solar development in the country. The goal of producing 100GW by 2050 means roughly 5 GW of annual installations need to be completed.

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Comprehensive Solar Thermal Integration for Industrial Processes

This report shows industrial processes for comprehensive solar integration. The paper discusses solar thermal energy-integration methods, cost estimations of system components and solar fractions. Multiple case study examples relevant to the dairy and biothermal industry are presented. Each case study includes three scenarios, and the results of each of those are discussed here.

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Design and Analysis of a Tracking and Backtracking Strategy for PV plants with Horizontal Trackers After Their Conversion to Agrivoltaic Plants

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.

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Physical Analysis of the Environmental Impacts of Fishery Complementary Photovoltaic Power Plant

This article discusses the mechanism of local micro-climate changes caused by fishery complementary photovoltaic (FPV) power plants to illustrate the impact of FPV power plants in a lake on the environment. It includes details about comprehensive albedo decreases relative to free water surface, water energy change and air vapor pressure deficits. The article also reveals that the FPV panels had a heating effect on the ambient environment, and that the range of this effect was related to water depth.

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Overview of Opportunities for Co-Location of Solar Energy Technologies and Vegetation

This study outlines some of the impacts large-scale solar facilities can have on the local environment, provides examples of installations where impacts have been minimized through co-location with vegetation, characterizes the types of colocation, and gives an overview of the potential benefits from co-location of solar energy projects and vegetation.

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Feasibility Study of a Blind-Type Photovoltaic Roof-Shade System Designed for Simultaneous Production of Crops and Electricity in a Greenhouse

This study assessed the performance of a blind-type shading regulator that can automatically rotate semi-transparent photovoltaic blades installed on the greenhouse roof in response to sunlight variation.

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The Effect of Gap Spacing Between Solar Panel Clusters on Crop Biomass Yields, Nutrients, and the Microenvironment in a Dual-Use Agrivoltaic System

This paper describes results of crop outputs for certain vegetables with differing gap spaces between rows to determine optimal crop production. It addresses nutrient levels, soil water content, and plant temperature below the panels. 

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MN Research Shows Solar Grazing Improves Soil Quality

Solar energy is the fastest growing renewable energy source. It is predicted that 20-29% of global power will be sourced by solar by 2100. Solar energy requires larger land footprints and long-term commitments. Vegetation left under solar panels reduces soil degradation and opens up the potential for solar grazing as a dual income for farmers and vegetation management for solar utilities. Research conducted on multiple solar sites in Minnesota reveal there can be meaningful forage in 45% shade and 80% shade from solar panels. Furthermore, grazing sheep under solar panels produces both a higher content of carbon and nitrogen in the soil. Managed episodic grazing can be used as a strategy for carbon sequestration and vegetation management. Soil properties show an overall improvement and benefits depending on soil properties. Future work must be done to measure the long term soil carbon and hydrological properties.

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Solar Park Microclimate and Vegetation Management Effects on Grassland Carbon Cycling

Increasing energy demands and the drive towards low carbon (C) energy sources has prompted a rapid increase in ground-mounted solar parks across the world. This represents a significant global land use change with implications for the hosting ecosystems that are poorly understood. In order to investigate the effects of a typical solar park on the microclimate and ecosystem processes, we measured soil and air microclimate, vegetation and greenhouse gas emissions for twelve months under photovoltaic (PV) arrays, in gaps between PV arrays and in control areas at a UK solar park sited on species-rich grassland. Our results show that the PV arrays caused seasonal and diurnal variation in air and soil microclimate. Specifically, during the summer we observed cooling, of up to 5.2 °C, and drying under the PV arrays compared with gap and control areas. In contrast, during the winter gap areas were up to 1.7 °C cooler compared with under the PV arrays and control areas. Further, the diurnal variation in both temperature and humidity during the summer was reduced under the PV arrays. We found microclimate and vegetation management explained differences in the above ground plant biomass and species diversity, with both lower under the PV arrays. Photosynthesis and net ecosystem exchange in spring and winter were also lower under the PV arrays, explained by microclimate, soil and vegetation metrics. These data are a starting point to develop understanding of the effects of solar parks in other climates, and provide evidence to support the optimisation of solar park design and management to maximise the delivery of ecosystem services from this growing land use.

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