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1. Solar PV Power Potential is Greatest Over Croplands

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-47803-3  

   Adeh, Elnaz H.; Good, Stephen P.; Calaf, M.; Higgins, Chad W. (August 2019, Scientific Reports)

   Abstract Solar energy has the potential to offset a significant fraction of non-renewable electricity demands globally, yet it may occupy extensive areas when deployed at this level. There is growing concern that large renewable energy installations will displace other land uses. Where should future solar power installations be placed to achieve the highest energy production and best use the limited land resource? The premise of this work is that the solar panel efficiency is a function of the location’s microclimate within which it is immersed. Current studies largely ignore many of the environmental factors that influence Photovoltaic (PV) panel function. A model for solar panel efficiency that incorporates the influence of the panel’s microclimate was derived from first principles and validated with field observations. Results confirm that the PV panel efficiency is influenced by the insolation, air temperature, wind speed and relative humidity. The model was applied globally using bias-corrected reanalysis datasets to map solar panel efficiency and the potential for solar power production given local conditions. Solar power production potential was classified based on local land cover classification, with croplands having the greatest median solar potential of approximately 28 W/m². The potential for dual-use, agrivoltaic systems may alleviate land competition or other spatial constraints for solar power development, creating a significant opportunity for future energy sustainability. Global energy demand would be offset by solar production if even less than 1% of cropland were converted to an agrivoltaic system. 

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2. Social Network Influence on Residential Solar Photovoltaic Adoption in an Agent-Based Electricity System Model

   https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2024-140793  

   Dello_Russo, Gina; Wu, Lei; Lytle, Ashley; Odonkor, Philip (August 2024, American Society of Mechanical Engineers)

   Abstract As the United States phases out traditional fossil fuels in favor of renewable energy sources, it is important to capitalize on all available avenues to increase renewable penetration. In the last decade, the costs associated with residential solar photovoltaic (PV) installations have decreased significantly, providing more homeowners with the opportunity to generate their own clean electricity. Research has found that the decision to invest in a residential solar PV system is guided by economic, social, and personal factors. Accounting for such complexities, the joint power of agent-based modeling and social network analysis is leveraged in this study to evaluate the effect of social influence on solar PV adoption. Featuring residential consumer agents with data-driven attributes, a logistic regression function to predict solar adoption, and random and small-world social network implementations, this work simulates residential solar PV adoption in New Jersey. Results indicate that including social influence in an agent-based electricity system model leads to increased installed residential solar capacity, but not necessarily higher adoption rates. These findings suggest that, with an understanding of the intricacies of consumer social networks, there are potential opportunities to bolster residential solar installations through low-cost social campaigns that motivate individuals to adopt home solar through their social ties. 

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3. A Case Study of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicon var. Legend) Production and Water Productivity in Agrivoltaic Systems

   https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052850  

   AL-agele, Hadi A.; Proctor, Kyle; Murthy, Ganti; Higgins, Chad (March 2021, Sustainability)

   null (Ed.)

   The challenge of meeting growing food and energy demand while also mitigating climate change drives the development and adoption of renewable technologies ad approaches. Agrivoltaic systems are an approach that allows for both agricultural and electrical production on the same land area. These systems have the potential to reduced water demand and increase the overall water productivity of certain crops. We observed the microclimate and growth characteristics of Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicon var. Legend) grown within three locations on an Agrivoltaic field (control, interrow, and below panels) and with two different irrigation treatments (full and deficit). Total crop yield was highest in the control fully irrigated areas a, b (88.42 kg/row, 68.13 kg/row), and decreased as shading increased, row full irrigated areas a, b had 53.59 kg/row, 32.76 kg/row, panel full irrigated areas a, b had (33.61 kg/row, 21.64 kg/row). Water productivity in the interrow deficit treatments was 53.98 kg/m3 greater than the control deficit, and 24.21 kg/m3 greater than the panel deficit, respectively. These results indicate the potential of Agrivoltaic systems to improve water productivity even for crops that are traditionally considered shade-intolerant. 

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4. Multi-year analysis of physical interactions between solar PV arrays and underlying soil-plant complex in vegetated utility-scale systems

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.123227  

   Choi, Chong Seok; Macknick, Jordan; McCall, James; Bertel, Rebecca; Ravi, Sujith (July 2024, Applied Energy)

   Concerns over the land use changes impacts of solar photovoltaic (PV) development are increasing as PV energy development expands. Co-locating utility-scale solar energy with vegetation may maintain or rehabilitate the land's ability to provide ecosystem services. Previous studies have shown that vegetation under and around the panels may improve the performance of the co-located PV and that PV may create a favorable environment for the growth of vegetation. While there have been some pilot-scale experiments, the existence and magnitude of these benefits of vegetation has not been confirmed in a utility-scale PV facility over multiple years. In this study we use power output data coupled with microclimatic measurements in temperate climates to assess these potential benefits. This study combines multi-year microclimatic measurements to analyze the physical interactions between PV arrays and the underlying soil-vegetation system in three utility-scale PV facilities in Minnesota, USA. No significant cooling of PV panels or increased power production was observed in PV arrays with underlying vegetation. Fine soil particle fraction was the highest in soils within PV arrays with the vegetation which was attributable to the lowest wind speeds from the compounding suppression of wind by vegetation and PV arrays. Soil moisture and soil nutrient response to re-vegetation varied between PV facilities, which could be attributed to differing soil texture. No statistically significant vegetation-driven panel cooling was observed in this climate. This finding prompts a need for site-specific studies to identify contributing factors for environmental co-benefits in co-located systems. 

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5. Agrivoltaic system design tools for managing trade-offs between energy production, crop productivity and water consumption

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad2ab8  

   Warmann, Emily; Jenerette, G. Darrel; Barron-Gafford, Greg A. (March 2024, Environmental Research Letters)

   Abstract Agrivoltaic systems that locate crop production and photovoltaic energy generation on the same land have the potential to aid the transition to renewable energy by reducing the competition between food, habitat, and energy needs for land while reducing irrigation requirements. Experimental efforts to date have not adequately developed an understanding of the interaction among local climate, array design and crop selection sufficient to manage trade-offs in system design. This study simulates the energy production, crop productivity and water consumption impacts of agrivoltaic array design choices in arid and semi-arid environments in the Southwestern region of the United States. Using the Penman–Monteith evapotranspiration model, we predict agrivoltaics can reduce crop water consumption by 30%–40% of the array coverage level, depending on local climate. A crop model simulating productivity based on both light level and temperature identifies afternoon shading provided by agrivoltaic arrays as potentially beneficial for shade tolerant plants in hot, dry settings. At the locations considered, several designs and crop combinations exceed land equivalence ratio values of 2, indicating a doubling of the output per acre for the land resource. These results highlight key design axes for agrivoltaic systems and point to a decision support tool for their development. 

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