Here is the off-grid farm, which produces energy thanks to agrivoltaics and powers hydrogen vehicles.
In addition to creating additional spaces for photovoltaic energy, agrivoltaic systems can increase land equivalent ratios, or more efficient use of land, generating additional income for farmers and entrepreneurs. There are many examples that are confirming this all over the world: they have brought excellent results in Kenya and Tanzania, but also in Italy, helping to produce excellent wine.
A group of scientists from the UK have managed to simulate an off-grid farm with a 1 GW agrivoltaic system, which could also be used to power hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The test was conducted in five countries: Australia, California, China, Nigeria and Spain. Tomatoes may be the most suitable crop to grow under solar panels.
The study, entitled “Analysis of large-scale (1GW) off-grid agrivoltaic solar farm for hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicle (HFCEV) charging station”was published on Energy Conversion and Management.
The plant
The proposed project configuration includes, in addition to a 1 GW off-grid agrivoltaic plant, converters, 300 electrolysers and systems to split water into oxygen and hydrogen, compressors and storage systems to power fuel cell vehicles. The plant was designed with 2,272,752 bifacial monocrystalline solar modules, each with a power of 440 W, and 200 inverters with a nominal capacity of 500 kW each.
The analysis
The analysis showed that the proposed configuration could provide a levelized cost of hydrogen between $3.90/kg in Nigeria and $8.13/kg in Spain.
Furthermore, the analysis indicated that tomatoes would be the best crop to grow under the panels, with agricultural yield losses estimated between 9.40% and 36.94%. The photovoltaic system provides microclimatic benefits, such as shade to cope with excessive radiation and heat, as well as increased humidity. However, tomato plants are not the most shade tolerant crops that can be grown in an agrivoltaic system. Indeed, highly shade-tolerant crops could lead to smaller yield reductions or even yield increases under certain climate conditions, although this could compromise the overall process.
The study results demonstrate that combining off-grid agrivoltaics with hydrogen generation is a viable model for improving land use while generating additional income. The main results indicate that all locations examined demonstrate suitability for agrivoltaic applications.
