A Marriage of Sun, Farmland, and Technology

Potential vegetation management savings from grazing sheep at agrivoltaics facilities

Agrivoltaics may be a relatively new concept, but many of its benefits are based on concepts farmers have grasped for centuries. Agrivoltaics is when solar photovoltaic (PV) panels are installed above crops so that the same land can be simultaneously used for energy and food production. When panels provide partial shade to crops, the shade reduces water evaporation and bolsters soil moisture levels by protecting the soil’s microbiome and productive capacity. Some crops can also increase solar production through increased albedo (reflected sunlight) and evaporative cooling.

Long before anyone imagined agrivoltaics, farmers planted shade trees, mixed tall and short crops to provide shade, and used cloths and nets to limit exposure to sunlight. While the basic concepts behind agrivoltaics are nothing new, technological advances can improve everything from where projects are sited to the day-to-day operations and potential long-term value of co-locating farming and solar energy production.

A recent EPRI technology innovation spotlight, Artificial Intelligence and Agrivoltaics, examined how AI and machine learning (ML) can help pinpoint communities likely to welcome projects and optimize their energy and food production once built.

Already, AI is being deployed to improve the production of individual solar power plants. This is no surprise: AI has extraordinary power to comb through massive data sets and pick out valuable trends and insights. For example, AI can analyze meteorological data and forecasts to adjust solar panels installed on a tracker to maximize energy production based on factors like temperature, cloud cover, and the intensity of sunlight. AI and ML can also bolster predictive maintenance by monitoring data for signs of everything from wiring problems to panel degradation and failure to inverter problems. By detecting potential problems before they materialize, AI and ML can trigger proactive maintenance that allows a solar generation facility to avoid disruptions that reduce its power output and revenue.

 

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