L R AS Published on Saturday 18 September 2021 - n° 374 - Categories:agrovoltaic
New agrivoltaic experimentation
Fraunhofer ISE is partnering with BayWa r.e. to measure the influence of a 258 kWp array on plant growth and crop yield. The five-year, publicly funded project will compare the production of apple
under three different crop protection systems: rain sheets, hail nets that do not block rain, light permeable PV panels and others that block rain if necessary. Two different types of panels are used, with solar cells arranged either in strips or blocks.
They will study eight apple varieties under the solar installation and how the system protects the fruit from hail, heavy rain, strong sunlight, frost or extreme temperatures.
Above all, the project aims to demonstrate economic benefits for farmers such as lower and more predictable electricity bills and reduced investment costs in crop protection.
Some time ago, BayWa r.e. launched a study on the cultivation of currants.
https://www.pv-tech.org/baywa-r-e-and-fraunhofer-ise-set-up-agrivoltaics-testing-site-in-germany/
PV Tech of 14 September 2021
Editor's note: The trees would have to be clones because a tree of one fruit variety is not equivalent to another tree of the same variety. The terrain would have to be identical because its composition varies within a few dozen metres and sometimes even within a shorter distance.
