In the threatening trouble of climate change, growing commercial crops on solar farms is a potentially efficient use of agricultural land that can both increase commercial food production and improve solar panel performance and longevity（寿命），according to a new Cornell research.
"We now have，for the first time， a physics-based tool to estimate the costs and benefits of co-locating（共用） solar panels and commercial agriculture in terms of increased power conversion efficiency and solar-panel longevity," said lead author Henry Williams, a doctoral student in Cornell Engineering.
"There is potential for agrivoltaic （农业光伏）systems，where agriculture and solar panels coexist， to provide increased passive cooling through taller panel heights, more reflective ground cover and higher evapotranspiration （蒸散） rates compared to traditional solar farms，＂said Max Zhang， professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, "We can generate renewable electricity and conserve farmland through agrivoltaic systems. " In New York, for example, about 40% of solar farm capacity has been developed on agricultural lands, while about 84% of land suitable for solar development is agricultural, according to a previous research study from Zhang's group.
The engineers showed that solar panels mounted over vegetation reveal surface temperature drops compared to those built over bare ground. Solar panels were mounted 4 meters above a cotton crop and the solar panels showed temperature reductions by up to 10 degrees Celsius, compared with those mounted a half-meter above bare soil.
"As you decrease the solar panel operating temperature, you can increase efficiency and improve the longevity of your solar panels," said Williams, "We're showing double benefits. On one hand, you have food production for farmers, and on the other hand, we've shown improved longevity and improved conversion efficiency for solar developers. "
"Up to this point, most of the benefits from agrivoltaic systems have been around areas with sufficient sunshine," said Zhang, "This research is taking a step toward the application of agrivoltaics in the Northeastern U. S. faced with the land-use competition. "
