Performance investigation of a V-trough concentrating agrivoltaic system based on spectral splitting

Abstract

Abstract In order to improve the comprehensive utilization efficiency of solar energy, a V-trough concentrating and splitting agrivoltaic hybrid system (VCSPVA system) is proposed in this paper, which transmits the red and blue spectral bands to crop field for photosynthesis conversion and concentrates the other bands to the solar panels for photoelectric conversion. Then, the power generation is completed with sustaining the crop growth, while the overall utilization efficiency of solar energy is improved significantly. The influence of key parameters is studied in detail. Results show that by adjusting trough angles, more reflected radiation can be received by the solar panels, minimizing the energy loss of the system. Through mathematical model establishment, the energy, economic and carbon emission evaluations of the proposed system are carried out. Consequently, the VCSPVA system has the highest annual efficiency of 16.96%, which is 39.15% and 45.93% higher than that of the traditional agrivoltaic system and photovoltaic-only system, respectively. Meanwhile, the net present value and carbon emission mitigation are $758680.99 and 0.25 t·m−2·a−1, respectively, which demonstrates a competitive option for dual land use and a significant role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.