Presentation Details
| Solar Edge-Ray Lens Attachment for Shadow Homogenization Geoffrey Sanchez, Jacob Humphrey, Peter Bermel. Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, West Lafayette, IN, USA |
Abstract
Agrivoltaic systems are beginning to increase in relevance within the United States. Research has shown that the most likely and suitable candidate for solar integration is on farmland. However, unlike European and Asian countries, which are more land-confined, the United States has few policy regulations to encourage agrivoltaics as the meaningful solution to the ‘food vs. fuel’ argument being debated. Recent pushes to generate renewable energy, specifically solar, is often met with “not in my backyard,” increasingly strict regulations, and objections to the technology. A method to combat the pushback is to consider and communicate with the stakeholder communities, to find an outcome which will benefit them. Unfortunately, there is not an economic incentive for solar developers to pursue this option, since adjusting a system is often costly, with no subsidy to encourage agricultural productivity. Here, we propose a Fresnel lens hardware addition to redistribute light at the edges of the solar modules, to encourage a higher base irradiance reaching the ground, thus promoting sustained crop growth. We developed a model, which was validated by a micro-farm experiment conducted. The light availability was shown to increase light in shaded regions while extending the duration of shading. The resulting hardware solution would be less expensive than raising the panels at scale, while not impeding the energy being collected. This would promote crop growth in the previously densely shaded regions which systems in the United States tend to have. While this trial was not conducted alongside crops, it serves as a proof of concept that may allow farmers and solar developers alike to consider agrivoltaics as a worthwhile solution in the United States.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.