Agrivoltaics: Farming Under a Solar Power System
Photovoltaic (PV) panels turn sunlight into electricity with the help of Fronius grid tie inverters. This combination of various equipment gives homes and businesses electric power to run appliances and operations during the night. But, recent studies have shown that this technology is beneficial to agriculture. Grown In the Shade A team of professors and students - both undergrad and graduate - have created the first agrivoltaics (AV) research at Biosphere 2 in Arizona. AV is the process of farming crops under PV panels, which are said to boost water savings and the efficiency of food and electricity production. The group measured everything, from when the plants germinated to the amount of carbon the greens were absorbing. They also monitored how much moisture the crops released and the food they produced throughout the entire growing season. Their study focused on jalapenos, cherry tomatoes, and chiltepin peppers under a solar array. And, they found that the AV system...