Agrivoltaics

A research team in Spain has developed a PV system layout for super-intensive olive groves. The scientists said the system must ensure high levels of transparency in order to avoid a negative impact on the olive yield.

TotalEnergies has become the sole shareholder of French agrivoltaics specialist Ombrea, in a transaction that builds upon the partnership they started in 2019.

An international research group has analyzed a vertical bifacial agrivoltaics system in a drought-stricken part of Chile. They say that the solar array can improve water efficiency for crop irrigation, while the vertical system configuration optimizes PV power generation throughout the day, minimizing curtailment.

TSE has installed a 2.9 MW agrivoltaics plant in northern France with sensors to trigger an irrigation system. The irrigation setup can reportedly achieve significant water savings. The company is selling the electricity under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA).

New research from Belgium shows agrivoltaic facilities with trackers perform significantly better than projects with fixed structures. The scientists found projects with tracking achieved an LCOE of €0.077 ($0.082)/kWh, while facilities with fixed structures were found to have an LCOE of €0.10/kWh.

The Italian Council of State has issued new rules to address a number of regulatory gaps, according to lawyer Andrea Sticchi Damiani, who recently won two cases related to agrivoltaic projects. In both instances, the council confirmed that agrivoltaic facilities are distinct from conventional ground-mounted PV plants.

New research shows the importance of calculating the effects of shading created by PV panels on the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) at the ground level, which is crucial to assessing crop yield in agrivoltaic projects. The proposed modeling considers different agrivoltaic project typologies across several sites in Europe.

France’s Sun’Agri has revealed the results of a test showing how agrivoltaic installations effectively lower temperature and relative humidity during periods of drought.

Italian scientific institutions have published new regulatory practices for agrivoltaics, with a specific focus on electricity production, agricultural output, and landscape preservation.

Researchers at the University of Illinois have conducted a survey, combined with prior research, outlining solar grazers’ investments and earnings. The report also delves into complex grazing business plans on large utility-scale solar facilities.