Assessment and comparison of the solar radiation distribution inside the main commercial photovoltaic greenhouse types in Europe

Cossu, Marco; Cossu, Andrea; Deligios, Paola A.; Ledda, Luigi; Li, Zhi; Fatnassi, H.; Poncet, C.; Yano, Akira

doi:10.1016/j.rser.2018.06.001

Cited by 62 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…This effect was also described by Bulgari et al [44]. According to this, Cossu et al [26] claim that the annual global radiation decreases by 0.8% for each additional 1.0% of photovoltaic panels located in a roof-top greenhouse. In this study, 1.0% of an additional shadowed area in the roof-top (as an average value for 15%, 30% and 50% treatments) caused a 1.6% decrease of PAR radiation.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

“…In Mediterranean countries, where solar radiation satisfied the plant's needs enough, roof-top greenhouse moderate shading with photovoltaic panels does not affect the production and quality parameters in a tomato crop like TSS, color, firmness and pH [24,25]. However, excessive shading can affect fruit quality [1,26]. Previous studies in the south-eastern Spanish greenhouse production area [30] showed that shading over 40% increases the firmness of the fruits and decreases the Total Solids Soluble.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, there is a reduction of the radiation that is available for the crops [2,18]. The reduction of radiation inside the greenhouse due to the photovoltaic panel installation needs to be deeply studied, because it can affect crop growth and yields, mainly in periods when solar radiation is lower [1,25,26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Effect of Different Levels of Shading in a Photovoltaic Greenhouse with a North–South Orientation

et al. 2020

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Photovoltaic greenhouses have been claimed to be a solution to cover the energy demand of the protected crops sector. Thus, there is a need to know what is the maximum percentage of shading produced by roof-top photovoltaic panels that does not affect crop yields. The present study analyzes the effects of increasing percentages of shading in a greenhouse tomato crop located in the southeast of Spain. For this study, photovoltaic panels have been simulated with opaque sheets located in the roof-top of a north–south oriented greenhouse. Three treatments of top roof shading percentage (15%, 30% and 50%) where studied and compared with the control treatment without shading (0%). During the study, parameters registered were radiation, temperature, pH and electric conductivity of the substrate, crop yields and fruit quality. Results of the analysis show that higher percentages of shading in the roof-top of greenhouses reduce so much available radiation for the crop causing a reduction in the yield and fruit quality, even in Mediterranean areas where radiation is not a limiting factor.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Effect of Different Levels of Shading in a Photovoltaic Greenhouse with a North–South Orientation

et al. 2020

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“…Agrivoltaics offers the strategic value of generating biomass together with electricity on the same piece of land. [ 5,7–13,20,38–41 ] With conventional agrivoltaics, opaque solar panels are used to cover a certain proportion of the agricultural land casting a shadow on the underlying plants. Maximizing the generation of electricity is a desirable goal, but might be at the expense of biomass production.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tinted Semi‐Transparent Solar Panels Allow Concurrent Production of Crops and Electricity on the Same Cropland

Thompson

Bombelli

Shubham

et al. 2020

Advanced Energy Materials

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Agrivoltaics describes concurrent agricultural production of crops and photovoltaic generation of electricity on the same cropland. By using tinted semi‐transparent solar panels, this study introduces a novel element to transform the concept of agrivoltaics from just solar‐sharing to selective utilization of different light wavelengths. Agrivoltaic growth of basil and spinach is tested. When compared with classical agriculture, and based on the feed‐in‐tariff of the experimental location, agrivoltaic co‐generation of biomass and electricity is calculated to result in an estimated financial gross gain up to +2.5% for basil and +35% for spinach. Marketable biomass yields do not change significantly for basil, while a statistically significant loss is observed for spinach. This is accompanied by a relative increase in the protein content for both plants grown under agrivoltaic conditions. Agrivoltaics implemented with tinted solar panels improve the biomass production per unit amount of solar radiation up to 68%, with up to 63% increase in the ratio of leaf and stem biomass to root. Agrivoltaics can enrich the portfolio of farmers, mitigate risks associated with climate, and vastly enhance global photovoltaics capacity without compromising agricultural production.

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“…Photovoltaic greenhouses are more diffuse in Mediterranean areas [77]. Moreover, all of the photovoltaic greenhouses that have been realized in these areas are characterized by a fixed position of the PV panels and excessive shading, especially in autumn and winter [78].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Photovoltaic Greenhouse with Passive Variation in Shading by Fixed Horizontal PV Panels

Moretti

Marucci

2019

Energies

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The traditional shading systems that greenhouses use cause some of the solar radiation that is reflected or absorbed to be lost and, therefore, not used by the plants under cultivation. An interesting solution to these problems is to position photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roofs of greenhouses. All of the photovoltaic greenhouses that have been realized in Mediterranean areas are characterized by a fixed position of the PV panels and excessive shading, especially in autumn and winter. The purpose of this study is to describe a prototype of a photovoltaic greenhouse with both fixed and horizontal PV panels that exploit the natural variation in the elevation angle of the sun’s rays during the year to allow for “passive” variation in shading. The considerable variation in the elevation angle of the sun’s rays (from 24.4° to 71.1°) results in a high variation in shading (from 39.4% to 72.6%), with the highest values in the summer months and the lowest values in the winter months. This trend is favorable for meeting the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) needs of greenhouse plants. If the plants under cultivation require more solar energy, it is necessary to increase the distance between the panels. We implement a specific mathematical relationship to define the precise distance to be assigned to the photovoltaic panels on the roof pitch.

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Assessment and comparison of the solar radiation distribution inside the main commercial photovoltaic greenhouse types in Europe

Cited by 62 publications

References 75 publications

The Effect of Different Levels of Shading in a Photovoltaic Greenhouse with a North–South Orientation

The Effect of Different Levels of Shading in a Photovoltaic Greenhouse with a North–South Orientation

Tinted Semi‐Transparent Solar Panels Allow Concurrent Production of Crops and Electricity on the Same Cropland

A Photovoltaic Greenhouse with Passive Variation in Shading by Fixed Horizontal PV Panels

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