Shading and Energy Impacts for Farmer-Friendly Agrivoltaics Arrays

Rucker, W. Ross; Birnie, Dunbar (ORCID:0000000160442300)

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DOE OSTI · 2476773

Shading and Energy Impacts for Farmer-Friendly Agrivoltaics Arrays

Rucker, W. Ross·Birnie, Dunbar (ORCID:0000000160442300)

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Abstract

When designing agrivoltaic solar arrays, farmers’ natural row tilling directions might be reasonable choices for array alignment, especially in cases where the tilling direction helps prevent soil erosion or has other benefits for the farmer’s operations. We examined the light field and energy production effects when installing arrays that have azimuth values that deviate from the typical ideal for three important array types: fixed-tilt, single-axis tracking, and vertical bifacial arrays. On a fractional annual energy production basis, though, all three array types lose very little output when rotated away from their ideal. This offers farmers and solar developers a wider range of system design to possibly align solar array rows with the farmer’s preferred tilling directions.

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BibTeX RIS

Rucker, W. Ross, Birnie, Dunbar (ORCID:0000000160442300). 2024-06-12. Shading and Energy Impacts for Farmer-Friendly Agrivoltaics Arrays. https://www.osti.gov/biblio/2476773

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