InSPIRE/Data Portal/Glossary
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Data Portal Glossary
Document Type
Accepted types for the data portal
- Journal Article
- Book
- Book Section
- Thesis/Dissertation
- Conference Paper
- Conference Proceedings
- Report
Low-Impact Development Strategy
Animal Grazing
This will include sheep, cows, chickens, etc. in conjunction with solar panel configurations.
Crop Production
Select when crops are being grown in conjunction with/around solar panel arrays, or crops are being analyzed in some way applicable to this branch of agrivoltaics.
Habitat/Ecovoltaics
When it is not crop production or grazing, but wildflowers, native grasses, and other non-turfgrass vegetation are being used to provide ecosystem services. Often will be selected in conjunction with Apiaries.
Greenhouse
Any study looking at a greenhouse environment. Please leave Crop Production unchecked for this case.
Crosscutting PV
Topics broadly applicable to agrivoltaic technologies, configurations, applications, deployment, and social perspectives that might not be directly focused on a specific agrivoltaic development strategy
Geographic Scope
Global
This will apply for studies that don’t have an explicit scale, such as reviews or proposed large-scale models.
Country
This will drop down select boxes for all countries. Select the relevant countries for your study. Most times you will only select one country. If your study area is in the US and you have a specific state, do not select this option, and go to state instead.
State
Select which state/states your study takes place in. A drop-down of the states should appear when you select this option.
Topic Hierarchy
Topics are hierarchy organized in the Data Portal.
Category
Categories are the most high-level subject matter categorization of topics which include Physical Sciences, Technology, Crosscutting, Social Sciences, and Biological Sciences.
Topic
Topics refer to a specialized area of research within an overarching category of research.
Sub-topic
Sub-topics refer to commonly researched variables or themes within a topic.
Topic
Entomology
Any papers that discuss insects or bugs
i. Abundance, Richness, and Diversity
The population of the insects, how many different species there are, and how their helpfulness/relevance to their environment (native vs non-native, etc.)
ii. Pollinators/Predators
Specifically looks at one of these two types of insects. Pollinator examples- native bees, butterflies. Predators- lady bugs, preying mantis, spiders.
iii. Insect Impacts on Agricultural Yields
Usually a solar array with pollinator habitat looking at the pollinator impact on nearby agricultural fields and their production differences.
Livestock
Agricultural animals like cows, goats, sheep, chickens, etc.
i. Stocking rates and approaches
Should discuss how the approach to handling livestock under solar panels differs from normal practice- are the panels raised? Cables buried deeper? Etc.
ii. Animal Welfare/temperature/water intake
Looks at if animals do better under the shade of panels or not- can use multiple metrics such as qualitative observations, body temperature decreases, or water intake differences.
iii. Animal behavior
Do the animals drift towards/prefer the shade of solar panels over other parts of their field/pasture? Do they disturb the panels and pylons, or ignore them?
iv. Weight, milk, fiber, meat production
Differences in output from the livestock. Do livestock under panels produce more of their output, and/or is it higher quality?
Wildlife
Animal behavior that do not qualify as livestock or domesticated- deer, raccoons, birds, etc.
i. Populations
How many of a wildlife species interact with a solar array.
ii. Habitat Suitability
How the solar array has changed habitat for wildlife. Examples- may provide more nesting options for birds, but limit hunting space for wolves (fencing), etc.
iii. Impact on wildlife/habitats
Similar to habitat suitability, but may focus more on the changes over time from before and after the array was built, instead of how the array may create new/different habitat current day. (likely you’ll select both these options)
Plant Science
Includes agricultural plants as well as native groundcover.
i. Plant Phenology
The growing stages of the plants (mostly agricultural, although flowering times of native plants may be studied). Stages can include sprouting, budding, flowering, fruiting, etc. depending on the plant species.
ii. Plant physiology
How a plant functions- can include things like photosynthesis rates, changes in leaf sizes, height differences, etc.
iii. Plant productivity and yields
Usually looks at the amount of harvestable material a plant produces, often compared to a control. Productivity can also look at photosynthesis and growth rates of the plant (is it more or less than not under solar panels)
iv. Plant/crop temperature
How are plants and crops effected by the shading of panels- hotter, cooler, etc.
v. Groundcover abundance, richness, and diversity
Largely a category for non-agricultural plants. Is the coverage of plants on the ground high, have diverse and/or native species? Pollinator habitat and grazing papers will probably fill most of this category
vi. Irrigation Efficiency
Does the shade of solar panels allow for the use of less water than a control? Are there other water use benefits to solar panels? (can include guttering systems or other water collection techniques as it relates to plant growth and presence)
vii. Fire risks
Discussion of how crop production/grazing/habitat affect fire risk. For example, grazing is being studied as a viable substitute for the role fire would normally play in an ecosystem.
viii. Pests and diseases
Looks at the rates of pests and diseases under panels (likely compared to a control). Do the panels help mitigate these things, or exacerbate them? Do panels allow for different pests/diseases than a traditional agricultural environment? Etc.
ix. Nutrition
Analyzes whether crops produced under panels have higher or lower nutrient levels than control plants
Human Health
Pretty self-explanatory- looks at how agrivoltaics impacts human health
i. Temperature
Usually going to be looking at farmers in agrivoltaics settings- does the shade of panels provide a more comfortable/safer work environment from temperature impacts.
ii. Sun exposure
Same as above, but for sun exposure instead of temperature- these will likely be fairly inter-connected and look at things like heat exhaustion and dehydration.
iii. Other health impacts
A catch-all category for any other health impacts. Can look at things like air quality differences, dangers of working around panels (hitting your head on panels, loose cables, etc.) or pretty much anything else not covered in the previous categories.
Microclimatology
The climate around and under a solar array. For larger scale climate discussions, should likely go in the Impact Assessments category for climate.
i. Air temperature
How air temperature differs across parts of a solar array- can look at under the panels, at different bed positions, etc.
ii. Relative humidity
Similar to air temperature, but for humidity instead.
iii. Wind and airflows
If wind speeds differ under the panels, if circulation is different because of the panels, etc. The first three are usually interconnected.
iv. Light and Shading
Can include shading analysis, PAR/PPFD, and/or light analysis of different crop production beds, for some examples.
v. PAR/PPFD
Photosynthetically active radiation and photosynthetic photon flux density. Essentially, a light and shading analysis that looks specifically at how the light relates to plants and photosynthesis. If this category is selected, light and shading should also always be selected.
Soil
Impacts of the solar array on soil behavior.
i. Bulk Density/Compaction
Both are measurements of the compaction of soil- this can be due to water running off panels, construction disturbance when the panels were installed, etc.
ii. Soil Temperature
How the temperature of the soil changes because of the solar panels.
iii. Nutrients
Soil testing that looks at the nutrients present in the soil- includes things such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
iv. Erosion
Similar to bulk density/compaction. Does the water runoff/protection from the panels impact erosion rates of the soil?
v. Soil Carbon
Likely discussing carbon sequestration and the ability/capacity of soils in a solar array to store carbon.
vi. Microbiome
Similar to nutrients, but for the biology of the soil instead of the chemistry. Looks at microorganisms in the soil that help recycle nutrients and their health/diversity.
vii. Heavy metals/contaminants
Fairly self-explanatory- can discuss possible contamination from construction, leeching of solar panels (unlikely) or heavy metals that were present in the soil before anything was built.
viii. Soil management
A sort of best practices category for agrivoltaics. Are management practices of soil different under solar panels, and if so, how? What are some of the different challenges of a solar array versus traditional soil management?
Hydrology
Water
i. Soil water content
Likely closely related to some of the categories in Soil. Is soil water content higher or lower under panels?
ii. Evapotranspiration
Similar to some of the categories in Plant Science. Do plants experience more or less evapotranspiration under panels? Can also be related to air temperature and relative humidity in Microclimatology.
iii. Stormwater runoff
Similar to soil compaction and water use efficiency/irrigation. Impacts of stormwater runoff on compaction, possible collection and use applications for stormwater, etc.
iv. Landscape level hydrology
Likely select if the hydrology discussed in the paper is on a larger scale than the leading edge of a panel, a set of beds in between panels, etc. Could look at precipitation levels for a region, water stressors on a larger scale, etc.
Social Perspectives
What different relevant stakeholders think/opinions of agrivoltaics
i. Farmer/landowner perspectives
These papers are usually survey based and compile overarching issues/concerns and/or positive opinions of agrivoltaics. This one is for farmers
ii. Community perspectives
This one is for the larger community- can look at overall community knowledge of what agrivoltaics is, land competition, all the way to whether people think solar panels are an eye sore or not.
iii. Solar industry perspectives
Solar developers and similar stakeholders- can look at where they clash with landowners and communities, if they think agrivoltaics are economic, etc.
iv. Implementation Barriers
Can be from any of the three social groups above- some examples are farmers lease their land and don’t get to decide, community/political policies make installation difficult, solar developers don’t understand rural communities, etc. etc. Anything that makes this process more difficult from a social perspective.
v. Broader DEI and social impacts
DEI-Diversity, equity, inclusion. Are minority/rural communities being passed over for agrivoltaic opportunities, or unfairly impacted by projects they don’t want? Etc.
Policy and Regulatory Issues
Political problems
i. Agricultural policies and regulations
Are there agriculture related policies that make implementing agrivoltaics easier or harder? Ex. Minimum yield requirements for AV projects or incentives to install solar over active ag land.
ii. Energy policy and regulations
Similar to above but related to energy. Ex. Policies that prevent installation of solar over ag land, or policies that give incentives for dual-land use.
iii. Incentive Structures
IRA (inflation reduction act) is a good example- gave tax refunds and breaks for increased installation of solar energy. Can incentivize either the installation of solar over ag land, or the establishment of ag under solar panels- can be an incentive from different perspectives.
iv. Federal/state/county policies
Usually a summary or opinion paper- discusses policies at any level as they are, or how they should be.
v. Insurance, liability, and risks
Are AV projects harder or easier to insure than traditional solar? What are the different liabilities and risks of having workers under solar panels more often for ag purposes? Etc.
Market Assessments
Essentially an evaluation of the value of an AV system based on the current market. These can be on small or large scales.
i. Technical Potential
Will focus more on the energy side- if a piece of land is converted to AV, how much energy could it produce? Are there grid lines close enough by to connect? How much land is available for AV given land use and topographic constraints? On a larger scale, how much energy could be produced at a country scale if more ag land was converted to AV?
ii. Market potential
Is there a market for energy produced at an AV setting, and/or a market for AV produced agricultural products (AV honey, peppers, etc.). Will combining these activities succeed from a market perspective and/or be cost competitive with what is currently available in the market?
iii. Agricultural supply chains
Similar to market potential, will ag supply chains support output of AV products, and can farmers get the supplies they need to get started? Example- lettuce at Jack’s solar garden was viable later in the season than normal lettuce, which would make it valuable to the ag supply chain because lettuce would be available much later in the year than from other traditional producers.
iv. Value propositions
The qualitative or quantitative trade-offs/comparison of the cost of installing solar on the impact of agricultural revenue/activities and solar revenue/design/operations, and how these interplay to affect payback periods and profits. An example could be related to "this project reduces arable crop land and crop yields per acre by 40%, but leads to additional revenue related to solar." Or a more quantitative comparison of tradeoffs of different configurations related to PV energy and $ vs. crop $.
Economics
Money
i. Configuration/climate/crop analysis
Trade-offs of one to all three of these categories for economics. A more spaced-out configuration may allow for more crop production, but would decrease energy production, and vice versa. Solar panels may impact climate and therefore growing season length, to when sale of a crop may be higher due to lower supply, etc.
ii. Rural development co-benefits
Does establishing AV in rural communities create more self-sustaining and secure towns? Can it bring more stable income to these communities? Etc.
iii. Techno-economic analyses
These papers will probably deliberately say they’re a techno-economic analysis (buzzword). Similar to market analysis, looks at things that are quantitate by nature like power purchase agreements (PPA), Net Present Value (NPV), Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), internal rate of return (IRR), payback periods, expected income from ag, etc.
iv. Cost benchmarks for O&M/CAPEX
Operations and maintenance and capital expenses. The ongoing expense of maintaining the AV site, and the up-front costs. Will likely look at the difference between a traditional solar installation versus AV sites.
PV Technologies
Technical focus on solar panels in an AV setting
i. Impact on energy generation
This can look at the configuration of panels to accommodate AV (spacing between panels/rows) and it can look at efficiency. Panel efficiency is linearly related to panel temperature- if plants have a cooling effect around panels, they will be more efficient, and vice versa.
ii. Novel PV materials
Semi-transparent/organic panels, panels that filter certain kinds of light (most common for greenhouse applications), Even-lighting agrivoltaics (AEPVs), cadmium telluride, etc. Pretty much any type of solar panel that isn’t a traditional mono or bifacial silicon panel.
iii. Soiling
Does the increased activity of agriculture around panels effect how much soil settles on the panels, and therefore their energy output? Could also look at potential innovative solutions for soiling in a dual-use environment.
iv. Panel temperatures
Similar to energy generation, since panel temp and energy generation are very related. Likely will measure this directly.
System Configuration
How the solar panels are organized/set-up and how/if this accommodates energy production or agriculture.
i. Heights, spacing, and layouts
Pretty self-explanatory- are the panels raised higher, spaced out further, and organized differently, etc.
ii. Alternative racking designs
Can include wire supported panels that require fewer pylons, larger structures that mimic rooves, anything that isn’t the traditional pylons with either fixed or tracking panels.
iii. Tracking algorithms
Different methods used to have panels track the sun- an example is to purposefully have the panels tilted the wrong way for parts of the day to allow more sun on plants, among others.
iv. Compatibility with Farming
Is the configuration more advantageous for energy generation, or for agriculture? What are the trade-offs between the two?
Siting
Where the panels are physically located
i. Site suitability
Identification of how compatible sites are for solar and ag- can include variables such as slope, soil health, precipitation, etc. Can also discuss innovative methods to establish on non-traditional sites.
ii. Siting guidelines
Best practices for establishment of AV sites based on environmental factors. Similar to site suitability, but identifies the ideal scenario for site suitability. For example, heavily sloped sites are not considered suitable for solar.
Standardization and Best Practices
Study that offers standardization or best methods/approaches for an aspect of agrivoltaics (e.g. best approach for farmer collaboration, best design configurations for different crops).
Tools
Modeling or other software/online tool that assists users in analyzing an aspect of agrivoltaics (e.g. irradiance modeling tool, agrivoltaics crop modeling tool).
Impact Assessments
Study that evaluates agrivoltaics on broader environmental impacts (e.g. Greenhouse gas emissions, food-water-energy nexus)
i. GHG Emissions/Reductions
Study evaluates the impact of agrivoltaics on greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes (likely CO2 (carbon dioxide) but can include CH4 (methane) or N2O (nitrous oxide)) or the total GHG emissions that an agrivoltaic system emits.
ii. Environmental/Climate LCA
Study performs a life cycle analysis (LCA) to understand the environmental impacts of agrivoltaics over a longer period of time. Can include one or multiple categories (e.g. climate change, freshwater use, depletion of resources, etc.).
iii. Food-water-energy nexus
Study evaluates how agrivoltaics impacts the intersection of food production, water use, and energy production. This would include evaluating tradeoffs and/or benefits to the food-water-energy nexus, such as increasing water use efficiency, renewable energy production, and food production.
iv. Land Impact/LER
Study evaluates how agrivoltaics impacts land use efficiency from dual use or land equivalent ratio (LER) from increasing agricultural yields. Also encompasses Price-performance ratio (PPR) the measure of the land’s ability to deliver performance. A PPR value less than 1 means that the benefits of agrivoltaics are greater than the normal revenues of the agricultural land.
Methodological Comparisons
Study that compares different methodologies (for data collection, analysis, modeling etc.) in a certain area of agrivoltaics research.
Reviews/Informational
Study that does not include empirical (experimental or observational) data, analysis, or modeling. It reviews current literature and/or provides general information in the field of agrivoltaics.
