A research consortium led by Israel-based Triangle R&D Center Alzahrawy Society has deployed a novel PV tracking system for energy production in greenhouses, as part of a European Union Horizon-funded project, known as Regace.
The group is investigating crop-responsive PV tracking systems supplied by project partner TriSolar, a PV systems supplier based in Israel, along with CO2 enrichment methods. It deploys customized monocrystalline bifacial PV panels with double 2mm tempered glass, passivated emitter rear cell (PERC) solar cells with 25.5% efficiency, measuring 105 mm * 105 mm.
There are five different frameless module configurations deployed across the six installations of the Regace project. They range from a 65 W module measuring 1100 mm x 360 mm x 35 mm with 24 cells to 145 W modules measuring 1700 mm x 530 mm x 35 mm with 52 cells. The light transmittance of the modules ranges from 25.3% to 36.2%. There is an intelligent control mechanism to adjust the angle of the PV panels based on crop light requirements.
The study involves six locations, including two operational farms, to understand performance with different crops, latitudes, and greenhouse types. The latest test site is located at Bio-Gärtnerei Watzkendorf, a German organic farm with experience using organic carbon dioxide (CO2) enrichment methods.
“The deployment in Germany will enable us to test our technology under authentic conditions,” project coordinator Ibrahim Yehia of the Alzahrawy Society told pv magazine. “We are confident that we will be able to demonstrate that agrivoltaics can be a major contributor to the EU clean energy portfolio, simultaneously addressing green energy and food security needs.”
Popular content
Besides the organizations mentioned above, the Regace consortium includes Israel-based Interteam Project Management and Tel Aviv University, along with Italy-based University Tor Vergata and Belgium’s Timelex.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.