Browsing by Subject "Photovoltaics"

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Agrivoltaic system impacts on microclimate and yield of different crops within an organic crop rotation in a temperate climate
(2021) Weselek, Axel; Bauerle, Andrea; Hartung, Jens; Zikeli, Sabine; Lewandowski, Iris; Högy, Petra
Agrivoltaic (AV) systems integrate the production of agricultural crops and electric power on the same land area through the installation of solar panels several meters above the soil surface. It has been demonstrated that AV can increase land productivity and contribute to the expansion of renewable energy production. Its utilization is expected to affect crop production by altering microclimatic conditions but has so far hardly been investigated. The present study aimed to determine for the first time how changes in microclimatic conditions through AV affect selected agricultural crops within an organic crop rotation. For this purpose, an AV research plant was installed near Lake Constance in south-west Germany in 2016. A field experiment was established with four crops (celeriac, winter wheat, potato and grass-clover) cultivated both underneath the AV system and on an adjacent reference site without solar panels. Microclimatic parameters, crop development and harvestable yields were monitored in 2017 and 2018. Overall, an alteration in microclimatic conditions and crop production under AV was confirmed. Photosynthetic active radiation was on average reduced by about 30% under AV. During summertime, soil temperature was decreased under AV in both years. Furthermore, reduced soil moisture and air temperatures as well as an altered rain distribution have been found under AV. In both years, plant height of all crops was increased under AV. In 2017 and 2018, yield ranges of the crops cultivated under AV compared to the reference site were −19 to +3% for winter wheat, −20 to +11% for potato and −8 to −5% for grass-clover. In the hot, dry summer 2018, crop yields of winter wheat and potato were increased by AV by 2.7% and 11%, respectively. These findings show that yield reductions under AV are likely, but under hot and dry weather conditions, growing conditions can become favorable.
Agrivoltaics: The environmental impacts of combining food crop cultivation and solar energy generation
(2023) Wagner, Moritz; Lask, Jan; Kiesel, Andreas; Lewandowski, Iris; Weselek, Axel; Högy, Petra; Trommsdorff, Max; Schnaiker, Marc-André; Bauerle, Andrea
The demand for food and renewable energy is increasing significantly, whereas the availability of land for agricultural use is declining. Agrivoltaic systems (AVS), which combine agricultural production with solar energy generation on the same area, are a promising opportunity with the potential to satisfy this demand while avoiding land-use conflicts. In the current study, a Consequential Life-Cycle Assessment (CLCA) was conducted to holistically assess the environmental consequences arising from a shift from single-use agriculture to AVS in Germany. The results of the study show that the environmental consequences of the installation of overhead AVS on agricultural land are positive and reduce the impacts in 15 of the 16 analysed impact categories especially for climate change, eutrophication and fossil resource use, as well as in the single score assessment, mainly due to the substitution of the marginal energy mix. It was demonstrated that, under certain conditions, AVS can contribute to the extension of renewable energy production resources without reducing food production resources. These include maintaining the agricultural yields underneath the photovoltaic (PV) modules, seeking synergies between solar energy generation and crop production and minimising the loss of good agricultural land.