Agrivoltaics for arable crops
French developer TSE has commissioned its first agrivoltaic pilot project in northeastern France. The 2.4 MW installation spans 3 hectares and is installed on arable land devoted to the cultivation of soya, wheat, rye, barley, and rapeseed.
Model to assess microclimates in vertical agrivoltaic systems
Swedish researchers have developed a model to analyze the microclimate parameters of a vertically mounted agrivoltaic system. They validated their model by comparing its estimations with measurements of solar irradiance, PV module temperature, and ground temperature.
Agrivoltaics for strawberries
In June 2020, German developer BayWa r.e. inaugurated its largest agrivoltaic power plant in the Netherlands, with a capacity of 2.7 MW. pv magazine France looks at the economic model.
Co-locating solar, crops, livestock in agrivoltaic projects
US researchers are exploring the potential to co-locate solar with cattle or sheep, crops, pollinator-friendly native plants, soil rehabilitation, and other ecosystem services.
New models to predict crop yields in agrivoltaics
A Swedish-Italian research group has applied state-of-the-art models for global horizontal irradiance decomposition to assess photosynthetically active radiation in agrivoltaic projects – an important variable to properly predict crop yield.
TotalEnergies, InVivo switch on vertical agrivoltaic system in France
TotalEnergies said its new 111 kW pilot facility in France will show the impact of solar panels on agricultural yield, while also shedding light on biodiversity, carbon storage, and water quality.
Agrivoltaics for rice growth
Scientists in Bangladesh have investigated the potential of agrivoltaics in rice fields. They analyzed the economic viability of bifacial agrivoltaic projects in Vietnam, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Brazil, and India.
Solar tree-based photovoltaic plants for mountainous areas
Scientists in land-scarce Korea are proposing to use solar trees to build PV installations in forest areas. Although more expensive than conventional ground-mounted facilities, solar plants made of solar trees may capture carbon from forest land and produce energy at the same time.
ZSW, Tubesolar achieve 14% efficiency for thin-film agrivoltaic solar tubes
TubeSolar and the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg have achieved a power conversion efficiency of 14% for a photovoltaic film based on perovskite.
New method to evaluate performance, LCOE of elevated agrivoltaics
Scientists in Belgium have developed a way to assess elevated agrivoltaic projects, by calculating key performance indicators such as energy yield and levelized cost of energy (LCOE). They have found that shade-tolerant crops such as potatoes could potentially be paired with around 1,290 GW of PV capacity in Europe.
