VERTICAL SOLAR PANELS ALLOW FARMS TO GENERATE MORE ENERGY
The use of upright double-facing solar panels on farmland could act as hedgerows in farm fields generating power while acting as windbreaks for crops and livestock, according to a recent report in New Scientist.
Agrovolatics – using land for both farming and solar power – is already utilised on some farms with panels positioned in tilted arrays over crops or allowing sheep to graze between them. But this type of installation can create shade which stops plant growth; it can also take up valuable food production land.
The German startup company Next2Sun is focusing is on special bifacial solar modules that are installed vertically and collect sunlight from both the front and back side of their panels. This strategy is helpful in areas where space is limited or where land is expensive. The vertical panels can collect energy in the morning and evening – if they face east and west – which counterbalances other solar plants, according to Next2Sun.
In 2018 the company set up a demo site in Germany on a farm producing hay and silage and a solar module capable of supplying 2MW – enough to support 700 households, according to the company. Two years later, it set up commissioned commercial plant with panels that provided more than 4MW.
Now, Next2Sun is just begun a project in Vermont in the USA, in collaboration iSun, that will cover nearly four acres of carrots, beetroot, and saffron crops.
But there are limits to what agrivoltaics can achieve. While crops like hay and potatoes, are a perfect fit for the technology, others, like corn, can blockthe panels. And the type of solar panel used is important too: Next2Sun’s agrivoltaics require bifacial solar panels that collect sunlight from both sides. These panels also need to be tall, which can make them more expensive.
(All images courtesy of Next2Sun)
