IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v374y2024ics0306261924012741.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Agricultural friendly single-axis dynamic agrivoltaics: Simulations, experiments and a large-scale application for Chinese solar greenhouses

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang, Wei
  • Yue, Zonghan
  • Ma, Haoyu
  • Gao, Yang
  • Liu, Wenjun
  • Huang, Xiangsheng
  • Zhang, Long
  • Meng, Xiangyu
  • Kribus, Abraham
  • Vitoshkin, Helena
  • Liu, Wen
  • Zhang, Xinyu

Abstract

The concept of agrivoltaics (APV) has made progress in recent years but has not yet been widely promoted and applied on a larger scale. The main hindrance lies in the fact that the effects on crop cultivation have not been optimal. This study establishes two sets of single-axis dynamic tracking photovoltaic (PV) systems utilizing bifacial modules: Solar tracking (ST) employing the maximum power generation strategy, and Reverse tracking (RT) employing the minimum shadow area tracking strategy for ground-mounted tracking. In Xiongan (N39.02°, E116.11°), ST increases power generation by 3.9% compared to fixed-axis PV systems (Tilt = 25°), while RT decreases power generation by 34.7%. The discrepancy in power generation between ST and RT is most noticeable on clear sky and partly cloudy days, with minimal difference on cloudy days. We investigate the impact of these systems on crop growth by analyzing changes in canopy area during the lettuce growing period and compare the net photosynthetic rates (Pn) of spring wheat (C3 crop) and millet (C4 crop) using canopy photosynthesis and transpiration measurement systems (CAPTS). The results indicate that lettuce shows a larger leaf area under ST throughout the growing period, millet exhibits a higher net photosynthetic rate under RT, while there is marginal difference in the Pn of spring wheat under both systems. This study integrates the above research configuration with Chinese Solar Greenhouses (CSGs) located in Yufa, Beijing. During the production season, the dynamic PV systems switch to the shadow-free mode to ensure the photosynthesis of crops within the CSGs. Conversely, during the idle season of the CSGs, the system shifts to ST mode to ensure PV power generation. By integrating power generation and planting data, the Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) can reach 1.46, with the Return on Investment (ROI) of 20% based on construction costs. Through experiments and practical case studies, it is evident that dynamic PV systems can be effectively integrated with CSGs, providing sufficient land and space for both PV power generation and crop cultivation.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Wei & Yue, Zonghan & Ma, Haoyu & Gao, Yang & Liu, Wenjun & Huang, Xiangsheng & Zhang, Long & Meng, Xiangyu & Kribus, Abraham & Vitoshkin, Helena & Liu, Wen & Zhang, Xinyu, 2024. "Agricultural friendly single-axis dynamic agrivoltaics: Simulations, experiments and a large-scale application for Chinese solar greenhouses," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 374(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:374:y:2024:i:c:s0306261924012741
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.123891
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261924012741
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.123891?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dupraz, C. & Marrou, H. & Talbot, G. & Dufour, L. & Nogier, A. & Ferard, Y., 2011. "Combining solar photovoltaic panels and food crops for optimising land use: Towards new agrivoltaic schemes," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 2725-2732.
    2. Li, Changsheng & Wang, Haiyu & Miao, Hong & Ye, Bin, 2017. "The economic and social performance of integrated photovoltaic and agricultural greenhouses systems: Case study in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 204-212.
    3. Elamri, Y. & Cheviron, B. & Lopez, J.-M. & Dejean, C. & Belaud, G., 2018. "Water budget and crop modelling for agrivoltaic systems: Application to irrigated lettuces," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 440-453.
    4. Hyun Jo & Sovetgul Asekova & Mohammad Amin Bayat & Liakat Ali & Jong Tae Song & Yu-Shin Ha & Dong-Hyuck Hong & Jeong-Dong Lee, 2022. "Comparison of Yield and Yield Components of Several Crops Grown under Agro-Photovoltaic System in Korea," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-13, April.
    5. Tahir, Zamen & Butt, Nauman Zafar, 2022. "Implications of spatial-temporal shading in agrivoltaics under fixed tilt & tracking bifacial photovoltaic panels," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 167-176.
    6. Zhang, Kai & Yu, Jihua & Ren, Yan, 2022. "Research on the size optimization of photovoltaic panels and integrated application with Chinese solar greenhouses," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 536-551.
    7. Radovan Kopecek & Joris Libal, 2021. "Bifacial Photovoltaics 2021: Status, Opportunities and Challenges," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-16, April.
    8. Reher, Thomas & Lavaert, Cas & Willockx, Brecht & Huyghe, Yasmin & Bisschop, Jolien & Martens, Johan A. & Diels, Jan & Cappelle, Jan & Van de Poel, Bram, 2024. "Potential of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) and wheat (Triticum aestivum) production in vertical bifacial, tracked, or elevated agrivoltaic systems in Belgium," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 359(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhang, Siqi & Gong, Jirui & Xiao, Cunde & Yang, Xiaofan & Li, Xiaobing & Zhang, Zihe & Song, Liangyuan & Zhang, Weiyuan & Dong, Xuede & Hu, Yuxia, 2024. "Bupleurum chinense and Medicago sativa sustain their growth in agrophotovoltaic systems by regulating photosynthetic mechanisms," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 189(PB).
    2. Chopdar, R.K. & Sengar, N. & Giri, Nimay Chandra & Halliday, D., 2024. "Comprehensive review on agrivoltaics with technical, environmental and societal insights," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    3. Mohd Ashraf Zainol Abidin & Muhammad Nasiruddin Mahyuddin & Muhammad Ammirrul Atiqi Mohd Zainuri, 2021. "Solar Photovoltaic Architecture and Agronomic Management in Agrivoltaic System: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-27, July.
    4. Cuppari, Rosa Isabella & Branscomb, Allan & Graham, Maggie & Negash, Fikeremariam & Smith, Angelique Kidd & Proctor, Kyle & Rupp, David & Tilahun Ayalew, Abiyou & Getaneh Tilaye, Gizaw & Higgins, Chad, 2024. "Agrivoltaics: Synergies and trade-offs in achieving the sustainable development goals at the global and local scale," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 362(C).
    5. Elmehdi Mouhib & Leonardo Micheli & Florencia M. Almonacid & Eduardo F. Fernández, 2022. "Overview of the Fundamentals and Applications of Bifacial Photovoltaic Technology: Agrivoltaics and Aquavoltaics," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-30, November.
    6. Lingjun Wang & Yuanyuan Li, 2022. "Research on Niche Improvement Path of Photovoltaic Agriculture in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-25, October.
    7. Mamun, Mohammad Abdullah Al & Dargusch, Paul & Wadley, David & Zulkarnain, Noor Azwa & Aziz, Ammar Abdul, 2022. "A review of research on agrivoltaic systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    8. Krexner, T. & Bauer, A. & Gronauer, A. & Mikovits, C. & Schmidt, J. & Kral, I., 2024. "Environmental life cycle assessment of a stilted and vertical bifacial crop-based agrivoltaic multi land-use system and comparison with a mono land-use of agricultural land," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    9. Schindele, Stephan & Trommsdorff, Maximilian & Schlaak, Albert & Obergfell, Tabea & Bopp, Georg & Reise, Christian & Braun, Christian & Weselek, Axel & Bauerle, Andrea & Högy, Petra & Goetzberger, Ado, 2020. "Implementation of agrophotovoltaics: Techno-economic analysis of the price-performance ratio and its policy implications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    10. Amaducci, Stefano & Yin, Xinyou & Colauzzi, Michele, 2018. "Agrivoltaic systems to optimise land use for electric energy production," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 545-561.
    11. Hassanien, Reda Hassanien Emam & Li, Ming & Yin, Fang, 2018. "The integration of semi-transparent photovoltaics on greenhouse roof for energy and plant production," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 377-388.
    12. La Notte, Luca & Giordano, Lorena & Calabrò, Emanuele & Bedini, Roberto & Colla, Giuseppe & Puglisi, Giovanni & Reale, Andrea, 2020. "Hybrid and organic photovoltaics for greenhouse applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    13. Joshua M. Pearce, 2022. "Agrivoltaics in Ontario Canada: Promise and Policy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-20, March.
    14. Widmer, J. & Christ, B. & Grenz, J. & Norgrove, L., 2024. "Agrivoltaics, a promising new tool for electricity and food production: A systematic review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    15. C, Rösch & E, Fakharizadehshirazi, 2024. "The spatial socio-technical potential of agrivoltaics in Germany," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    16. Casares de la Torre, F.J. & Varo, Marta & López-Luque, R. & Ramírez-Faz, J. & Fernández-Ahumada, L.M., 2022. "Design and analysis of a tracking / backtracking strategy for PV plants with horizontal trackers after their conversion to agrivoltaic plants," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 537-550.
    17. Daisuke Yajima & Teruya Toyoda & Masaaki Kirimura & Kenji Araki & Yasuyuki Ota & Kensuke Nishioka, 2023. "Estimation Model of Agrivoltaic Systems Maximizing for Both Photovoltaic Electricity Generation and Agricultural Production," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-16, April.
    18. Cossu, Marco & Cossu, Andrea & Deligios, Paola A. & Ledda, Luigi & Li, Zhi & Fatnassi, Hicham & Poncet, Christine & Yano, Akira, 2018. "Assessment and comparison of the solar radiation distribution inside the main commercial photovoltaic greenhouse types in Europe," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 822-834.
    19. Junedi, M.M. & Ludin, N.A. & Hamid, N.H. & Kathleen, P.R. & Hasila, J. & Ahmad Affandi, N.A., 2022. "Environmental and economic performance assessment of integrated conventional solar photovoltaic and agrophotovoltaic systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    20. Cossu, Marco & Tiloca, Maria Teresa & Cossu, Andrea & Deligios, Paola A. & Pala, Tore & Ledda, Luigi, 2023. "Increasing the agricultural sustainability of closed agrivoltaic systems with the integration of vertical farming: A case study on baby-leaf lettuce," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 344(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:374:y:2024:i:c:s0306261924012741. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.