How does module tracking for agrivoltaics differ from standard photovoltaics? Food, energy, and technoeconomic implications

Abstract

Module tracking can be an effective approach for spatial-temporal sharing of sunlight between solar modules and crops in agrivoltaics (AV). For desired food-energy yield across various seasons and crops, tracking needs to be customized based on factors including crop type, module array density, economics and social preferences, and policy. Here, we explore customized tracking (CT) along single axis for AV to meet the desired food-energy yield and economic performance for a variety of module configurations and crop types. CT is implemented through a time multiplexing of standard tracking and anti-tracking along the day to balance sunlight between modules and crops, respectively. Module energy and spatial-temporal shading are modeled using the view factor approach while the crop response to shading is modeled empirically. Economic factors including module hardware/soft costs and crop profit are explored to model the economic performance using price-performance ratio. A case study done at Punjab, Pakistan shows that 5 hours of daily standard tracking around noon can ensure 80 % of the typical energy yield targets while maintaining 40 % and 80 % relative biomass yield for crops having high and moderate shade sensitivity, respectively. When module row spacing is increased 2–3 times relative to a typical ground mounted photovoltaic (GMPV) system, biomass yield for crops having high shade sensitivity can be substantially recovered while also improving economic performance. Due to a higher capital cost, 30–40 % increase in feed-in-tariff could be required to make the tracking AV economically competitive to a typical GMPV. The proposed approach can be highly effective for customized module tracking design and economic analysis for AV.