Comparative Analysis of Photovoltaic Configurations for Agrivoltaic Systems in Europe

Journal Article: Comparative Analysis of Photovoltaic Configurations for Agrivoltaic Systems in Europe

Abstract

Agrivoltaics is the dual use of land by combining agricultural crop production and photovoltaic (PV) systems. In this work, we have analyzed three different agrivoltaic configurations: static with optimal tilt, vertically mounted bifacial, and single-axis horizontal tracking. A model is developed to calculate the shadowing losses on the PV panels along with the reduced solar irradiation reaching the area under them for different PV capacity densities. First, we investigate the trade-offs using a location in Denmark as a case study and second, we extrapolate the analysis to the rest of Europe. We find that the vertical and single-axis tracking produce more uniform irradiance on the ground, and a capacity density of around 30 W/m2 is suitable for agrivoltaic systems. Based on our model and a 100-m-resolution land cover database, we calculate the potential for agrivoltaic in every region within the European Union. The potential for agrivoltaic is enormous as the electricity generated by agrivoltaic systems could produce 25 times the current electricity demand in Europe. Overall, the potential capacity for agrivoltaic in Europe is 51 TW, which would result in an electricity yield of 71,500 TWh/year.

Contains a model

Contains novel data

Topics

Microclimatology

Light and shading

Market Assessments

Technical potential
Market potential

System Configuration

Heights/spacing/layouts
Tracking algorithms
Compatibility with farming

Siting

Siting guidelines

Standardization and Best Practices
Reviews/Informational

Agrivoltaic Activity: Crop Production

Authors: K. A. K. Niazi and M. Victoria

Published Journal

: Progress in Photovoltaics, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.3727
Online: Internet link for Comparative Analysis of Photovoltaic Configurations for Agrivoltaic Systems in Europe

Citation

K. A. K. Niazi, M. Victoria. 2023. Comparative Analysis of Photovoltaic Configurations for Agrivoltaic Systems in Europe. Progress in Photovoltaics. 31(11):

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