| 1. |
- Campana, Pietro Elia, 1984-, et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of the first agrivoltaic system in Sweden
- 2023
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Photovoltaic (PV) systems in Sweden have primarily been seen as an energy efficiency measure to reduce the amount of purchased electricity for buildings, both residential and commercial. Only recently utility-scale solar systems have begun to increase their share of the solar market to support national energy and emissions targets. Due to the economies of scale, conventional ground-mounted PV (CGMPV) installations represent the best solution for producing electricity at the lowest specific initial investment costs. This relatively new solar market segment, with large-scale ground-mounted solar farms on agricultural land, has faced several challenges with the permitting process. Agricultural land that is suitable for cultivation is of "national importance" according to the Swedish Environmental Code. Cultivable agricultural land may be exploited for other purposes on a permanent basis only if it is necessary to satisfy essential societal interests and there is no other possible land to use within the area in question. Traditionally, ground-mounted solar farms have increased competition for land resources for food production and drawn criticism in the so-called "food-versus-fuel (electricity)" debate over whether agricultural land should be used for electricity generation or food production. Agrivoltaic (APV) systems represent an intelligent solution to avoid land use competition by combining arable farming and electricity production on the same agricultural land. The main objective of this project was to study how APV systems perform from an energy, agricultural and economic perspective compared to CGMPV systems and agriculture production. The project aimed to highlight advantages and disadvantages of APV systems at northern latitudes with an energy-food-water perspective. The aim was pursued by establishing an APV test site, the first APV system in Sweden, monitoring its performance both from an energy and agricultural point of view, and developing new techno-economic models. Data from the APV test site were used to better understand how APV systems at northern latitudes affect: 1) the efficiency of the solar modules; 2) crop productivity, and 3) the financial return for ground-based solar PV systems. The first agrivoltaic system in Sweden has been built on a permanent ley grass field, at Kärrbo Prästgård, Västerås, and research activities have been carried out on the ley grass during 2021 and 2022. As in previous research studies in other countries, we defined three sub-fields: 1) a sub-field is covered only by the ley grass (reference area), 2) a sub-field is a CGMPV system 11.8 kWp solar PV system with two rows of solar modules with a 30° tilt and 3) the last subfield is a 22.8 kWp APV system with three rows of vertically mounted solar modules, with ley grass between the modules. This field set-up allowed for comparisons between practices (agriculture and electricity generation) and technologies (CGMPV systems versus APV systems). The calculated specific electricity production during a typical meteorological year for the APV system and the CGMPV system was 1,067 kWh/kWp/year and 1,116 kWh/kWp/year, respectively. Nevertheless, the APV system tends to have higher efficiency than the CGMPV systems due to the solar irradiation patterns on the solar cell surfaces and wind cooling of the PV modules. The main results of the project in terms of shadow effects on the ley grass showed that the APV system did not significantly affect the productivity of the forage grass in 2021-2022. There was no statistically significant difference between the yield of the samples taken in the APV system and the reference area. Even so, the yield per hectare is reduced by approximatively 10%, when the distance between the vertically mounted solar modules is 10 meters, due to the area under the solar modules that cannot be mechanically harvested. The measurements performed at the test site allowed us to validate the earlier developed model for both electricity production and the effects of shading on crop production. Having a model to assess crop yields under APV systems is of utmost importance to be able to pre-assess the system's effects on food production, which is one of the main goals of APV system regulations worldwide. From an economic perspective, APV systems cannot compete with CGMPV systems due to lower electricity production per hectare, lower density of the solar modules per hectare, and higher investment costs per hectare. Nevertheless, APV systems can be the solution to overcome the legal obstacles that prohibit or hinder the use of agricultural land for electricity generation with PV systems.
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| 2. |
- Campana, Pietro Elia, 1984-, et al.
(författare)
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Experimental results, integrated model validation, and economic aspects of agrivoltaic systems at northern latitudes
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier Ltd. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 437
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Agrivoltaic systems, which allow the coexistence of crop and electricity production on the same land, are an integrated water–energy–food nexus solution that allows the simultaneous attainment of conflicting Sustainable Development Goals. This study aims to analyse experimental results on the responses of ley grass yield and quality to shadings in the first agrivoltaic system in Sweden. It also aims to validate an integrated modelling platform for assessing agrivoltaic systems' performances before installation. An economic analysis is carried out to compare the profitability of agrivoltaic versus conventional ground-mounted photovoltaic systems and, using a Monte Carlo Analysis, to identify the parameters that most affect the profitability. Despite the agrivoltaic systems’ supporting structures and photovoltaic modules producing an average ∼25% reduction in photosynthetically active radiation at ground level, no statistically significant difference was observed between the yield of the samples under the agrivoltaic system compared to the yield of the samples in the reference area. The agrivoltaic system attained land equivalent ratios of 1.27 and 1.39 in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The validation results of the integrated modelling platform show that the sub-model concerning the crop yield response to shading conditions tends to underestimate ∼7% the actual average crop yield under the agrivoltaic system. The results of the economic analysis show that, from a net present value perspective, agrivoltaic systems have a profitability that is ∼30 times higher than a conventional crop rotation in Sweden.
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