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Suitable Sites for Agrivoltaics – Performance of a Pear Orchard

This poster illustrates the performance of several crops under a solar photovoltaic panel, including pears. The performance of this agrisolar operation is provided in detail in the poster shown, including details regarding erosion and flooding risk, as well as crop suitability and cropping area.

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SPE Best Practices Guidelines for Agrisolar

This best practices report includes many orchardvoltaic case studies in Europe, including: Albers raspberry farm in the Netherlands, strawberry greenhouses in France, citrus fruit and aromatic herbs grown in PV greenhouses in France as well as land regeneration and an animal husbandry agrisolar project in Hauet-Garonne, France. These projects presented in this report can be useful in the development of similar agrisolar projects in the future.

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Water Status, Irrigation Requirements and Fruit Growth of Apple Trees Grown Under Photovoltaic Panels

This article describes a planned three-year study (2019-2022) to understand the effect of shading below solar panels in apple production. This study includes tree water status, irrigation requirements, and fruit growth. The first-year results show that the presence of solar panels on top of apple trees improved their water status with less water applied in the period prior to harvest without any negative effects in fruit growth rates than with trees that had no solar panels.

Water-Status-Irrigation-Requirements-and-Fruit-Growth-of-Apple-Trees-Grown-under-Photovoltaic-PanelsDownload
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The Effect of Gap Spacing Between Solar Panel Clusters on Crop Biomass Yields, Nutrients, and the Microenvironment in a Dual-Use Agrivoltaic System

This thesis examines the crop outputs for Swiss chard, kale, pepper, and broccoli in an agrisolar system with different gap spacings between solar panel clusters. It concludes that the biomass crop yields of agrisolar plots are restricted significantly for Swiss chard, kale, or pepper compared against the full-sun control plot yields but not for broccoli stem and leaf yields.

The-Effect-of-Gap-Spacing-Between-Solar-Panel-Clusters-on-Crop-Biomass-Yields-Nutrients-and-the-Microenvironment-in-a-Dual-Use-Agrivoltaic-SystemDownload
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Solar Sharing for Both Food and Clean Energy Production: Performance of Agrivoltaic Systems for Corn, A Typical Shade-Intolerant Crop

This article concerns research conducted at a 100-m2 experimental farm with three sub-configurations: no modules (control), low module density, and high module density. In each configuration, 9 stalks/m2 were planted 0.5 m apart. The biomass of corn stover grown in the low-density configuration was larger than that of the control configuration by 4.9%. Also, the corn yield per square meter of the low-density configuration was larger than that of the control by 5.6%. 

Solar-Sharing-for-Both-Food-and-Clean-Energy-Production-Performance-of-Agrivoltaic-Systems-for-Corn-A-Typical-Shade-Intolerant-CropDownload
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Solar Photovoltaic Architecture and Agronomic Management in Agrivoltaic System: A Review

This article reviews factors that influence solar PV and agronomic management in agrisolar systems. The authors conclude that several adjustments for crop selection and management are needed due to light limitation, microclimate condition beneath the solar structure, and solar structure constraints. The authors also conclude that a systematic irrigation system is required to prevent damage to the solar panel structure. 

Solar-Photovoltaic-Architecture-and-Agronomic-Management-in-Agrivoltaic-Systems-A-ReviewDownload
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Semi-Transparent Organic Photovoltaics Applied as Greenhouse Shade for Spring and Summer Tomato Production in Arid Climate

This study investigates the effects of semi-transparent, wavelength-selective OPV solar on a greenhouse tomato crop in the arid southwestern U.S. This study demonstrates that the use of semi-transparent OPVs as a seasonal shade element for greenhouse production in a high-light region is feasible. However, a higher transmission of PAR and greater OPV device efficiency and durability could make OPV shades more economically viable, providing a desirable solution for co-located greenhouse crop production and renewable energy generation in hot and high-light intensity regions.

Semitransparent-Organic-Photovoltaics-Applied-as-Greenhouse-Shade-for-Spring-and-Summer-Tomato-ProductionDownload
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Productivity and Radiation Use Efficiency of Lettuces Grown in the Partial Shade of Photovoltaic Panels

This study concerns lettuce grown beneath solar panels and found large leaf size and yield in lettuce grown under the panels. The authors suggest optimizing solar panel shade and lettuce varieties for optimal co-location.

Productivity-and-Radiation-Use-Efficiency-of-Lettuces-Grown-in-the-Partial-Shade-of-Photovoltaic-PanelsDownload
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Performance of Agrivoltaic Systems for Shade-Intolerant Crops: Land for Both Food and Clean Energy Production

This Master’s Thesis includes research findings on the performance of agrivoltaic systems with stilt-mounted photovoltaic (PV) panels on farmland. The results showed that the stilt-mounted agrivoltaic system can mitigate the trade-off between crop production and clean energy generation even when applied to shade-intolerant crops. 

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Overview of Opportunities for Co-Location of Solar Energy Technologies and Vegetation

This report includes a discussion of vegetation-centric approaches to the co-location of solar energy and vegetation, including harvestable crops.

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