An interdisciplinary consortium led by Italy's Eurac Research has launched a new research project, Symbiosyst, to develop technological solutions and strategies to increase the competitiveness of agrivoltaics solutions across Europe, while minimizing the impact on the landscape.
The consortium aims to develop standardized cost-effective PV modules, mounting structures, and O&M solutions that meet the needs of various crops across climates and landscapes. Planned innovations will include the use of functional coatings from Dutch tech specialist Physee in greenhouses. The coatings reportedly optimize the sunlight entering the greenhouse through spectral shifting by converting UV light into photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), which improves crop growth.
The pilot project will also seek to adapt single horizontal axis tracker technology used in PV utility-scale systems to agrivoltaic applications. The tracker technology of Italian manufacturer Valmont Solar, a unit of US-based Valmont Industries, will be used in three steel mono-axial tracker structures more than 2.10 meters high. The trackers will be made of weathering steel, a low-cost material that turns brown over time, lowering the visual impact of the structure.
Symbiosyst will also develop a SCADA control system paired with a tracker tilting control system. The project will demonstrate the technology by setting up agrivoltaic plant demonstrators. The solutions will be in-field studied in four agricultural scenarios differing in location, climate, size, and kinds of crops.
“Our role at Eurac Research will concern the development of methodologies to aid the early design of agri-PV plants, to look into sustainability aspects and to go beyond social acceptance,” said David Moser, project coordinator.
The other consortium members include Belgian research center Imec, Italian research energy ENEA, German module manufacturer Aleo Solar, and Spain's Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, as well as Engie Laborelec, KU-Leuven, TU-Delft, 3E, Physee, Lucisun, Kubo Group, Above Surveying, ETA Italia, Südtiroler Bauernbund, and Versuchszentrum Laimburg.
*This article was updated on 27/01/2023 to add the remaining consortium members.
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.