Modeling of Stochastic Temperature and Heat Stress Directly Underneath Agrivoltaic Conditions with Orthosiphon Stamineus Crop Cultivation

Abstract

This paper presents the field measured data of the ambient temperature profile and the heat stress occurrences directly underneath ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays (monocrystalline-based), focusing on different temperature levels. A previous study has shown that a 1 °C increase in PV cell temperature results in a reduction of 0.5% in energy conversion efficiency; thus, the temperature factor is critical, especially to solar farm operators. The transpiration process also plays an important role in the cooling of green plants where, on average, it could dissipate a significant amount of the total solar energy absorbed by the leaves, making it a good natural cooling mechanism. It was found from this work that the PV system’s bottom surface temperature was the main source of dissipated heat, as shown in the thermal images recorded at 5-min intervals at three sampling times. A statistical analysis further showed that the thermal correlation for the transpiration process and heat stress occurrences between the PV system’s bottom surface and plant height will be an important factor for large scale plant cultivation in agrivoltaic farms.

Agrivoltaic Systems Design and Assessment: A Critical Review, and a Descriptive Model towards a Sustainable Landscape Vision (Three-Dimensional Agrivoltaic Patterns)

“…Therefore, the area below modules may be exploited with shade-tolerant species, especially in hot arid climates. Some studies in this regard have already been carried out in India [27,28] and Malaysia [29][30][31][32] for testing species such as java tea, aloe vera or spinach (Figure 6), achieving higher crop yields for herbal plants while at the same time reducing the module temperature by 0.85%, which may increase the annual energy production up to 2.8% [33], although with a potential risk of pest due the high moisture [30]. However, concepts that combine farming and energy production on the same site are not limited to stilted solar arrays (stripes) above crops.…”

Solar Photovoltaic Architecture and Agronomic Management in Agrivoltaic System: A Review

“…Current studies also show that the environmental factors that may influence the efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) panels are sometimes ignored [12,17,[28][29][30][31]; however, for AVS, these factors are very crucial [32,33]. For example, gravel underlay for solar PV sites may contribute to a heat island effect that increases the ambient temperature below the PV structure.…”

“…Furthermore, efforts to reduce CO 2 emissions and promote sustainable energy are always gaining international support [60]. Thus, these AVS initiatives are highly in line with Food-Energy-Water (FEW) nexus [9,13,14,34,61] and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [28,32,56,[62][63][64].…”

“…Most energy generated by solar farms is sold to the grid. However, to sell power to the grid first you need approval from your country's power provider and authorities [32,122].…”

Photovoltaics and Electrification in Agriculture

“…An agrovoltaic system has certain benefits in terms of the temperature of both the panels and the crop itself. In the study by Othman et al [6], it is analyzed how the crop itself, with its evapotranspiration, reduces the temperature of the solar panels, which, as is known, is the main responsible for their loss of efficiency. Likewise, the placement of panels reduces the evapotranspiration itself and therefore, the hydric stress of the crop, especially in areas with high solar radiation.…”