Agrivoltaics

Researchers in China have built a prototype of a spectral-splitting concentrator agrivoltaic system (SCAPV) with a PV efficiency of 9.9, a hybrid light-use efficiency rating of 9.05%, and a levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of $0.033/kWh.

The National Solar Energy Federation of India will serve as the secretariat of the India Agrivoltaics Alliance (IAA). The Alliance comprises 12 organizations and is supported by the India Climate Collaborative and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

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.

A new study by the University of Hohenheim shows that shading from PV systems can improve agricultural yields, especially in dry periods, but additional research is needed.

A new study assesses agrivoltaics development in India and identifies the challenges and opportunities for commercializing these projects. 

The global agrivoltaics market is pegged at a 10.1% annual growth rate, according to a research note by Allied Analytics.

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.

Sunfarming is taking the lead when it comes to agriPV project development and investment in Germany. And in South Africa, Sunfarming’s Food and Energy and the Food Education Energy Development (FEED) program has developed two unique concepts through which it can share its agriPV expertise. pv magazine sat down with Sunfarming director of international projects, Edith Brasche, to talk about the company’s South African projects.

Created by a Dutch group of companies and research institutions, the mobile solar system may also be combined with an electrolyzer for hydrogen generation. Two prototypes are currently being tested by a farmer and a research institute in the Netherlands.

A new report by IEEFA proposes enhancing India’s electric vehicle (EV) adoption strategy as an alternative to further promotion of blended fuel, given the land-use efficiency gap between renewable energy generation for EV charging and cultivation for ethanol blending in fuels. Matching the distance driven by electric vehicles (EVs) charged from one hectare of solar generation would require ethanol derived from up to 251 hectares of sugar cane or 187 hectares of maize, it estimated.