{"id":5422,"date":"2021-04-08T01:07:21","date_gmt":"2021-04-07T22:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/?p=5422"},"modified":"2021-04-08T01:07:21","modified_gmt":"2021-04-07T22:07:21","slug":"agrivoltaics-an-impressive-breakthrough-for-clean-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/agrivoltaics-an-impressive-breakthrough-for-clean-energy\/","title":{"rendered":"Agrivoltaics an impressive breakthrough for clean energy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Water scarcity<\/h4>\n

Globally, reductions in precipitation and rising air temperatures are increasing vulnerabilities in both the agricultural and energy sectors. Water scarcity concerns are shaping conversations and driving action in the agricultural sector. Extreme weather events are impacting energy systems worldwide. As such, the resilience of the global energy system is of growing importance. Drought-proof technologies such as wind and solar photovoltaics likely could remedy both resilience and sustainability concerns<\/p>\n

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By 2050, it is estimated that the world’s population is expected to increase to 9.7 billion people. This condition raises multiple concerns about climate change and food production. This prediction drives science to find the best solution, and Agrivoltaics might be one of them. Agrivoltaics is a combination of agriculture and photovoltaics, which is a fancy word for solar panels that produce food underneath the shade of overhead solar panels.<\/p>\n

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Farmers and ranchers could grow vegetables and fruits or graze their livestock under solar panels. Agrivoltaics refers to the practice of co-locating photovoltaic infrastructure and agriculture, by planting crops under photovoltaic panels. The technique was originally developed in 1981. It became more appealing in recent years as photovoltaic prices dropped, interest in renewable energy rose, and financial pressures on small farmers grew.<\/p>\n

Solar power<\/h4>\n

Agrivoltaics is where solar power are integrated into land already used for agriculture. It promises to address concerns around land scarcity. Also, by starting to demonstrate useful synergies and potential benefits for food and energy production. For many projects, allowing sheep to graze on the grass under a Photovoltaic installation has proven an effective collaboration. A panel structure offers shade for the animals, and crops provide vegetation management at no additional cost.<\/p>\n

An agrivoltaic system has potential to mitigate both the requirement of adequate quantity and quality of energy generation at farm level land. The mechanism of this process transpires from the soil absorption through the heat of the sun and the solar panels trap the heat. Then crops planted under the solar panels reduce the surrounding temperature, lessening the heat-island effect. As water transpires through the plant\u2019s leaves , the panels are cooled by the evaporation. The cooler panels convert more of the sun\u2019s energy to usable electricity. Shaded crops will require less water.<\/p>\n

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The solar panels will be mounted on racks about 8 feet off the ground, a height that will allow farm machinery to operate under them. And, of course, this also allows him to grow crops underneath them. There are several benefit by using Agrivoltaic system such as ; food production, water savings and enhancing renewable energy production.<\/p>\n

Food production<\/h4>\n

Total tomato\/capsicum fruit production could be lightened up three times greater. For the cherry tomato, water-use efficiency was 60% greater and total fruit production doubled in the Agrivoltaic system. The agrivoltaic solar photovoltaic panels are cooler during daytime hours compared to the traditional panel array, by approximately 3-6\u00b0C, allowing for better performance.<\/p>\n

\"\"By the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Renewable Energy Agency that promises broader collaboration and knowledge exchange between the two sectors to create efficient and environmentally friendly products.<\/p>\n

\u201cRenewable energy is essential for agri-food systems transformation, climate resilience and net-zero strategies,\u201d said Qu Dongyu, FAO director-general, reporting the collaboration in January. \u201cThrough our collaboration, we aim to generate and share knowledge, innovative products and technologies, as well as data and information. This agreement will allow us to strengthen the role of renewable energy within FAO\u2019s initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Support and development<\/h4>\n

Despite several countries such as G7 Countries, China, Singapore and India enrolling to generate Agrivoltaics, researchers and developers are largely working on adapting existing mainstream PV technologies. Developing these into the agricultural landscape, with significant differences from a standard ground-mount installation appearing at system level. Introducing these in the height and spacing of modules, as well as in the operation of trackers.<\/p>\n

Policies should support the development of Agrivoltaics system, facing the rapid digitalization alongside infrastructure and other developing department. Financial advantageous calculation is also necessary to examine the evidence based risk data in order to maximize a desired result<\/p>\n