Spatial Distribution Model of Solar Radiation for Agrivoltaic Land Use in Fixed PV Plants

Abstract

Agrivoltaics is currently presented as a possible effective solution to one of society’s greatest challenges: responding to the increasing demand for energy and food in an efficient and sustainable manner. To this end, agrivoltaics proposes to combine agricultural and renewable energy production on the same land using photovoltaic technology. The performance of this new production model strongly depends on the interaction between the two systems, agricultural and photovoltaic. In that sense, one of the most important aspects to consider are the effects of the shadows of the photovoltaic panels on the crop land. Therefore, further study of crop behavior under agrivoltaic conditions requires exhaustive knowledge of the spatial distribution of solar radiation within the portion of land between collectors and crops. This study presents a valid methodology to estimate this distribution of solar irradiance in agrivoltaic installations as a function of the photovoltaic installation geometry and the levels of diffuse and direct solar irradiance incident on the crop land. As an example, this methodology was applied to simulate the radiative capture potential of possible photovoltaic plants located in Cordoba, Spain by systematically varying the design variables of the photovoltaic plants. Based on the results obtained, a model correlating the agrivoltaic potential of a photovoltaic plant with its design variables is proposed. Likewise, for the “Alcolea 1” photovoltaic plant (Cordoba, Spain), the solar radiation decay profiles were simulated in the lanes between the photovoltaic collectors where the crops would be planted in the event of converting this plant into an agrivoltaic facility. Thus, the methodology proposed represents an interesting way to determine the agrivoltaic potential of existing grid-connected photovoltaic installations that could be converted into agrivoltaic installations, contributing to the implementation of this new agricultural production model that is more sustainable and environmentally committed to the future.