Agrivoltaics

Agrivoltaics or agrophotovoltaics means co-developing the same area of land for both solar photovoltaic power and agricultural production.[1] The coexistence of solar panels and crops implies a sharing of solar radiation between these two types of production.[2] It can be defined as the practice of integrating solar photovoltaics with agricultural practices, for siting photovoltaic production systems on or adjacent to cropland or grazing land. It implies the symbiotic co-production of both agricultural goods and solar energy, with the intent of optimizing the combined outputs. An Ontario company calls Agrivoltaics "a perfect combination of solar panels and plants on farmland... to generate crops and energy simultaneously and without conflict." Agrivoltaics can be thought of as the scientifically planned companion planting of solar energy production and agricultural production.

This page introduces the topic and is intended to help users to find specific content based on geographic focus, climate type, crop or animal production type, and other factors.

Most Recent Additions

News from the U.S. Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), October 2024, Analysis Tools Can Help Farmers Calculate Economics of Agrivoltaics, https://attra.ncat.org/analysis-tools-can-help-farmers-calculate-economics-of-agrivoltaics/ And, see: https://www.umass.edu/news/article/new-analysis-tools-umass-amherst-can-help-farmers-make-informed-choice-agrivoltaics AND https://openei.org/wiki/InSPIRE

Center for Rural Affairs, October 2024, Fact Sheet Provides Resources for Dual-Use Solar Ordinances. https://www.cfra.org/news-release/new-center-rural-affairs-fact-sheet-provides-resources-dual-use-solar-ordinances

University of Massachusetts Amherst developed a new set of analytical tools to help farmers calculate whether agrivoltaics make economic sense for them. The two spreadsheet-based tools consist of a crop-specific logbook to analyze farm-level activities and a whole-farm tool to calculate aggregate projections for trade-offs between crop production with or without agrivoltaics. The spreadsheets incorporate factors such as different solar technologies, crop spacing, labor costs, and extra fuel to navigate farm equipment around solar panels.

Agrivoltaics case studies

By geography: China, Japan, Japan, Japan, Netherlands, Ontario, Philippines, Thailand [Add more in alphabetical order, please.]

By crop type -- animals, plants

Where does agrivoltaics fit within the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals?

Where does agrivoltaics fit within the context of the Pattern Language for a Conservation Economy and Reliable Prosperity?

FAST Agrivoltaics
FAST
Welcome to the Free Appropriate Sustainable Technology (FAST) research group run by Professor Joshua Pearce, the Thompson Chair in Information Technology and Innovation at the Thompson Centre for Engineering Leadership & Innovation. He holds appointments at Ivey Business School, the top ranked business school in Canada and the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Western University in Canada, a top 1% global university. Western is ranked #3 in the world for sustainability and Ivey is as well among business schools. FAST helps Western achieve its sustainability goals as we explore the way solar photovoltaic technology can sustainably power our society and how open-source hardware like open source appropriate technologies (or OSAT) and RepRap 3-D printing can drive distributed recycling and additive manufacturing (DRAM) (and maybe even social change).
FAST News
Welcome to the news portal of Free Appropriate Sustainable Technology (FAST).
Pearce publications in solar photovoltaic systems
Pearce publications in energy policy and sustainability policy
 
Pearce publications in sustainable development and open source appropriate technology
Vertical Free-Swinging Photovoltaic Racking Energy Modelling: A Novel Approach to Agrivoltaics
To enable lower-cost building materials, a free-swinging bifacial vertical solar photovoltaic (PV) rack has been proposed, which complies with Canadian building codes and is the lowest capital-cost agrivoltaics rack. The wind force applied to the free-swinging PV, however, causes it to have varying tilt angles depending on the wind speed and direction. No energy performance model accurately describes such a system. To provide a simulation model for the free-swinging PV, where wind speed and direction govern the array tilt angle, this study builds upon the open-source System Advisor Model (SAM) using Python. After the SAM python model is validated, a geometrical analysis is performed to determine the view factors of the swinging bifacial PV, which are then used to calculate the solar irradiation incident on the front and back faces of the bifacial PV modules. The findings reveal that free-swinging PV generates 12% more energy than vertical fixed-tilt PV systems. Free-swinging PV offers the lowest capital cost and the racking levelized cost is over 30% lower than the LCOE of other agrivoltaics racks including the LCOE of commercial fixed-tilt metal racking, optimized fixed-tilt wood racking PV, and seasonally adjusted wood racking PV.
The potential for fencing to be used as low-cost solar photovoltaic racking
Popular agrivoltaic systems use photovoltaic (PV) farms for pasture grazing animals. In general, these agrivoltaic systems do not reduce the capital cost of a PV farm and in some cases can increase it. To overcome this challenge this study investigates the potential for retrofitting existing animal fencing on farms to have dual use for vertical-mounted monofacial PV racking. Specifically, this study catalogs types of fences and wind load calculations classified under Risk Category I are run through a new python-based Open Source Wind Load Calculator to determine the viability of fence-based racking throughout the U.S. The base shear force for all the fences are calculated for a range of wind loads from 80mph to 150mph (129 km/h to 241 km/h) and the results are mapped to indicate the number of PV modules between the vertical fence poles a fence can tolerate in a specific location. The results show the required fence type including post and battens in a given area for sheep, goats, pigs, cows, and alpaca to be used for agrivoltaics. Overall, at least one PV module between posts is acceptable indicating a new agrivoltaic system potential that as little as $0.035/kWh for racking on existing fencing. Although the yield for a vertical PV can range from 20 to 76 % of an optimized tilt angle depending on azimuth, the racking cost savings enable fence-retrofit agrivoltaics to often produce lower levelized cost electricity. Future work is necessary to determine the full scope of benefits of vertical PV agricultural fencing on a global scale.
Open-Source Vertical Swinging Wood-Based Solar Photovoltaic Racking Systems
Vertical bifacial solar photovoltaic (PV) racking systems offer the opportunity for large-scale agrivoltaics to be employed at farms producing field crops with conventional farming equipment. Unfortunately, commercial proprietary vertical racks cost more than all types of conventional PV farm racking solutions. To overcome these cost barriers, this study reports on the development of a new wood-based PV racking design. The open-source design consists of a hinge mechanism, which reduces mechanical loading and enables wood to be used as the main structural material, and is the first of its kind. This open-source vertical wood-based PV rack is (i) constructed from locally accessible (domestic) renewable and sustainable materials, (ii) able to be made with hand tools by the average farmer on site, (iii) possesses a 25-year lifetime to match PV warranties, and (iv) is structurally sound, following Canadian building codes to weather high wind speeds and heavy snow loads. The results showed that the capital cost of the racking system is less expensive than the commercial equivalent and all of the previous wood-based rack designs, at a single unit retail cost of CAD 0.21. The racking LCOE is 77% of the cost of an equivalent commercial racking system using retail small-scale component costs, and is 22%, 34%, and 38% less expensive than commercial metal vertical racking, wood fixed tilt racking, and wood seasonal tilt racking costs, respectively. Overall, wooden vertical swinging PV racking provides users with a low-cost, highly available alternative to conventional metal vertical racking, along with a potential increase in energy yield in high wind areas thanks to its unique swinging mechanism.

Scholarly literature about Agrivoltaics in General

Scholarly literature about Agrivoltaics for Specific Crops and Animals

Events

News Media Reports

See also

The Western Innovation for Renewable Energy (WIRED) system is currently under construction to test out new open source methods to reduce PV systems costs and enable novel forms of agrivoltaics including the world's first agrivoltaic agrotunnel.

Services provided by agrivoltaics are: renewable electricity generation, decreased green-house gas emissions, reduced climate change, increased crop yield, plant protection from excess solar energy, plant protection from inclement weather such as hail, water conservation, agricultural employment, local food, improved health from pollution reduction increased revenue for farmers, a hedge against inflation, the potential to produce nitrogen fertilizer on farm, on farm production of renewable fuels such as anhydrous ammonia or hydrogen, and electricity for EV charging for on- or off-farm use.
Agrivoltaics Canada - What is Agrivoltaics

In the News

From: Financial Analysis of Agrivoltaic Sheep: Breeding and Auction Lamb Business Models

  1. Raising sheep for grazing under solar panels makes everyone clean, green money - Western News
  2. Sheep Grazing Under Solar Panels Yields Green Profits Mirage News
  3. Agrivoltaics paired with sheep production makes nearly 100% of land grazable TechXplore
  4. Agrivoltaics paired with sheep production makes nearly 100% of land grazable MSN
  5. Grazing ’solar’ sheep offer lucrative solution for farmers My Science
  6. Global Renwable News
  7. Rinnovabili
  8. Education News Canada
  9. How agrivoltaics and “solar” sheep are redefining profitable farming in Canada PV Buzz
  10. Nature’s best lawnmower: How solar grazing is changing the photovoltaic landscape Euronews
    1. Yahoo NewZealand
    2. Bundle
    3. Photos: Sheep grazing boosts solar farms and soil health in the US and Europe Interesting Engineering
  11. O melhor cortador de relva da natureza: como o pastoreio solar está a mudar a paisagem fotovoltaica EuroNews
  12. La meilleure tondeuse à gazon de la nature : comment le pâturage solaire change le paysage photovoltaïque - Observatoiredeleurope
  13. Solar sheep grazing under agrivoltaic arrays can maximise land use News9
  14. El mejor cortacésped natural: ¿Cómo el pastoreo solar está cambiando el panorama fotovoltaico? Yahoo Spain
  15. ‘Solar shepherds’ earn big by grazing sheep on solar farms — and they benefit everyone involved Modern Science
  16. Sheep farmers are crazy about solar power plants: “Salaries are higher than lawyers” Central asia Climate Portal
  17. Researchers make unexpected discovery about sheep raised in nontraditional environment: 'There is an enormous opportunity' The Cool Down
    1. MSN
  18. ‘Solar shepherds’ earn big by grazing sheep on solar farms — and they benefit everyone involved The Conversation
    1. Yahoo News
    2. Down to Earth
    3. Renew Economy
    4. Inkl
    5. The National Tribune (Australia)
    6. Winnipeg Free Press
    7. Morning Ag Clips
    8. The 14
    9. ATTRA NCAT
    10. OSU
  19. Får och solparker - en vinst för både lantbruk, får och klimat Energinyheter (se)
  20. Researchers make unexpected discovery about sheep raised in nontraditional environment: 'There is an enormous opportunity' Yahoo
  21. Une étude révèle un duo gagnant : moutons et panneaux solaires, “un potentiel immense” Le Energeek
  22. ‘Farming Sunshine’ Brings Food, Power Producers Together for Local Baaa-nefit The Energy Mix
  23. Bùng nổ ngành nông nghiệp quang điện Saigon Online

References

  1. ↑ Dinesh, Harshavardhan; Pearce, Joshua M. (2016). "The potential of agrivoltaic systems". Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 54: 299–308. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2015.10.024.
  2. ↑ "A New Vision for Farming: Chickens, Sheep, and ... Solar Panels" (in en). 2020-04-28. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
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