Direct and diffuse shading factors modelling for the most representative agrivoltaic system layouts

TL;DR

This paper develops and validates models to analyze shading effects of different agrivoltaic system layouts, helping optimize crop yield by understanding light distribution and reduction.

Contribution

It introduces accurate, simplified models for shading analysis in agrivoltaic systems, comparable to commercial software, aiding system design and crop yield prediction.

Findings

Models show high accuracy compared to commercial software.

Shading distribution varies significantly with system design.

Photosynthetically active radiation reduction ranges from 11% to 34%.

Abstract

Agrivoltaic systems are becoming more popular as a critical technology for attaining several sustainable development goals such as affordable and clean energy, zero hunger, clean water and sanitation, and climate action. However, understanding the shading effects on crops is fundamental to choosing an optimal agrivoltaic system as a wrong choice could lead to severe crop reductions. In this study, fixed vertical, one-axis tracking, and two-axis tracking photovoltaic arrays for agrivoltaic applications are developed to analyse the shading conditions on the ground used for crop production. The models have shown remarkably similar accuracy compared to commercial software such as PVsyst and SketchUp. The developed models will help reduce the crop yield uncertainty under agrivoltaic systems by providing accurate photosynthetically active radiation distribution at the crop level. The distribution was further analysed using a light homogeneity index and calculating the yearly photosynthetically active radiation reduction. The homogeneity and photosynthetically active radiation reduction varied significantly depending on the agrivoltaic system design, from 91% to 95% and 11% to 34%, respectively. To identify the most suitable agrivoltaic system layout dependent on crop and geographical location, it is of fundamental importance to study the effect of shadings with distribution analysis.