IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v218y2023ics0960148123012582.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Vertical free-swinging photovoltaic racking energy modeling: A novel approach to agrivoltaics

Author

Listed:
  • Hayibo, Koami Soulemane
  • Pearce, Joshua M.

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Hayibo, Koami Soulemane & Pearce, Joshua M., 2023. "Vertical free-swinging photovoltaic racking energy modeling: A novel approach to agrivoltaics," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:218:y:2023:i:c:s0960148123012582
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2023.119343
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148123012582
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2023.119343?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. Graham Palmer, 2019. "Renewables rise above fossil fuels," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 4(7), pages 538-539, July.
    2. Mohammad Al-Saidi & Nisreen Lahham, 2019. "Solar energy farming as a development innovation for vulnerable water basins," Development in Practice, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(5), pages 619-634, July.
    3. Dias, Luís & Gouveia, João Pedro & Lourenço, Paulo & Seixas, Júlia, 2019. "Interplay between the potential of photovoltaic systems and agricultural land use," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 725-735.
    4. John Paul Helveston & Gang He & Michael R. Davidson, 2022. "Quantifying the cost savings of global solar photovoltaic supply chains," Nature, Nature, vol. 612(7938), pages 83-87, December.
    5. Dinesh, Harshavardhan & Pearce, Joshua M., 2016. "The potential of agrivoltaic systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 299-308.
    6. 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).
    7. Uzair Jamil & Abigail Bonnington & Joshua M. Pearce, 2023. "The Agrivoltaic Potential of Canada," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-26, February.
    8. Appelbaum, J., 2018. "The role of view factors in solar photovoltaic fields," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 161-171.
    9. Obane, Hideaki & Nagai, Yu & Asano, Kenji, 2020. "Assessing land use and potential conflict in solar and onshore wind energy in Japan," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 842-851.
    10. Aleh Cherp & Vadim Vinichenko & Jale Tosun & Joel A. Gordon & Jessica Jewell, 2021. "National growth dynamics of wind and solar power compared to the growth required for global climate targets," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 6(7), pages 742-754, July.
    11. 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.
    12. Pascaris1, Alexis S. & Schelly, Chelsea & Rouleau, Mark & Pearce, Joshua M., 2021. "Do Agrivoltaics Improve Public Support for Solar Photovoltaic Development? Survey Says: Yes!," SocArXiv efasx, Center for Open Science.
    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. Joshua M. Pearce, 2022. "Agrivoltaics in Ontario Canada: Promise and Policy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-20, March.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. Uzair Jamil & Joshua M. Pearce, 2022. "Energy Policy for Agrivoltaics in Alberta Canada," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-31, December.
    5. 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).
    6. Sahoo, Somadutta & Zuidema, Christian & van Stralen, Joost N.P. & Sijm, Jos & Faaij, André, 2022. "Detailed spatial analysis of renewables’ potential and heat: A study of Groningen Province in the northern Netherlands," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 318(C).
    7. Agostini, A. & Colauzzi, M. & Amaducci, S., 2021. "Innovative agrivoltaic systems to produce sustainable energy: An economic and environmental assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    8. Rahman, Md Momtazur & Khan, Imran & Field, David Luke & Techato, Kuaanan & Alameh, Kamal, 2022. "Powering agriculture: Present status, future potential, and challenges of renewable energy applications," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 731-749.
    9. Willockx, Brecht & Reher, Thomas & Lavaert, Cas & Herteleer, Bert & Van de Poel, Bram & Cappelle, Jan, 2024. "Design and evaluation of an agrivoltaic system for a pear orchard," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 353(PB).
    10. Safat Dipta, Shahriyar & Schoenlaub, Jean & Habibur Rahaman, Md & Uddin, Ashraf, 2022. "Estimating the potential for semitransparent organic solar cells in agrophotovoltaic greenhouses," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 328(C).
    11. Edouard, Sylvain & Combes, Didier & Van Iseghem, Mike & Ng Wing Tin, Marion & Escobar-Gutiérrez, Abraham J., 2023. "Increasing land productivity with agriphotovoltaics: Application to an alfalfa field," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 329(C).
    12. Pascaris, Alexis S., 2021. "Examining existing policy to inform a comprehensive legal framework for agrivoltaics in the U.S," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    13. Varo-Martínez, M. & Fernández-Ahumada, L.M. & Ramírez-Faz, J.C. & Ruiz-Jiménez, R. & López-Luque, R., 2024. "Methodology for the estimation of cultivable space in photovoltaic installations with dual-axis trackers for their reconversion to agrivoltaic plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 361(C).
    14. G.-Fivos Sargentis & Paraskevi Siamparina & Georgia-Konstantina Sakki & Andreas Efstratiadis & Michalis Chiotinis & Demetris Koutsoyiannis, 2021. "Agricultural Land or Photovoltaic Parks? The Water–Energy–Food Nexus and Land Development Perspectives in the Thessaly Plain, Greece," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-19, August.
    15. Semeraro, Teodoro & Scarano, Aurelia & Santino, Angelo & Emmanuel, Rohinton & Lenucci, Marcello, 2022. "An innovative approach to combine solar photovoltaic gardens with agricultural production and ecosystem services," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    16. Sojib Ahmed, M. & Rezwan Khan, M. & Haque, Anisul & Ryyan Khan, M., 2022. "Agrivoltaics analysis in a techno-economic framework: Understanding why agrivoltaics on rice will always be profitable," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 323(C).
    17. Trommsdorff, Max & Kang, Jinsuk & Reise, Christian & Schindele, Stephan & Bopp, Georg & Ehmann, Andrea & Weselek, Axel & Högy, Petra & Obergfell, Tabea, 2021. "Combining food and energy production: Design of an agrivoltaic system applied in arable and vegetable farming in Germany," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    18. 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).
    19. Uzair Jamil & Abigail Bonnington & Joshua M. Pearce, 2023. "The Agrivoltaic Potential of Canada," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-26, February.
    20. Feuerbacher, Arndt & Laub, Moritz & Högy, Petra & Lippert, Christian & Pataczek, Lisa & Schindele, Stephan & Wieck, Christine & Zikeli, Sabine, 2021. "An analytical framework to estimate the economics and adoption potential of dual land-use systems: The case of agrivoltaics," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 192(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:renene:v:218:y:2023:i:c:s0960148123012582. 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.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    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.