European Union seeks to simplify agricultural PV design
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Since the beginning of this year, a European team has been working on a two-year research project with a budget of 2 million euros (US$2.05 million) to study crop yields, PV power generation and water use, with plans to apply the results in new models and software.
The study includes a pilot plant for testing solutions in the Nordic environment, including the use of overhead PV systems and ground-mounted PV systems, in particular PV arrays mounted between rows of crops, fixed vertically, at a tilt angle, and with trackers. The study will also consider other factors such as water usage.
The software will support a range of crop and PV system combinations, including an agricultural PV mapping function that allows crop and energy yield estimates to be made. The software is compatible with platforms developed by Glint Solar, a Norwegian company whose software is used by project developers for siting, designing and collaborating on solar power plants. In addition, some of the research results will be published.
Members of the consortium include Glint Solar, Kilowattsol, a French agro-PV specialist and co-founder of Agrivoltaisme, a trade organization for agro-PV, Danish Renewables, a PV project and engineering company headquartered in Rimbey, Denmark, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Germany.
The dual combination of solar PV and agricultural land “must ensure that PV on agricultural land contributes to solving the problem, rather than exacerbating it,” Kilowattsol CEO Xavier Daval said in a statement.
The project is one of the latest research projects in Europe related to agricultural power generation. For example, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems is conducting a trial in Germany using PV panels to shade young fir trees. France has been working to combine commercial and agricultural interests, and there are also projects to improve the economics of certain crops through photovoltaic power generation and to improve olive cultivation using PV technology.
The European team working on the research project has already made significant progress in understanding the relationship between crop yields, PV power generation, and water use. The pilot plant testing solutions in the Nordic environment is crucial for gathering real-world data on the effectiveness of different PV system configurations.
The collaboration with Glint Solar, Kilowattsol, Danish Renewables, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ensures a diverse range of expertise and perspectives are brought to the project. This will help in developing comprehensive models and software that can be used by project developers and farmers alike.
The focus on ensuring that the combination of solar PV and agricultural land is beneficial for both energy generation and crop production is a key priority for the team. By publishing some of the research results, the team hopes to contribute to the broader understanding of how agro-PV systems can be implemented sustainably.
Overall, the project is a significant step towards harnessing the potential of agricultural power generation in Europe. With ongoing research and collaboration, the team is poised to make valuable contributions to the field of agro-PV technology.
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Source: www.pv-magazine.com
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