Scientists have built a 1.8 kW agrivoltaic setup in India to grow peppers under the PV modules. The proposed project design is described as an agrivoltaic insect net house that can be used for all crops requiring rigorous pest management.
A research group from India’s Vellore Institute of Technology has designed an agrivoltaic system containing an insect net to protect crops that require pest control, such as peppers. “Agrivoltaics may not be suitable for some crops that require rigorous pest management,” the scientists said. “Normal agrivoltaic systems fail to control pests and insects, further reducing crop yields.”
The scientists conducted a techno-economic analysis of what they define as an agrivoltaic insect net house where pepper growth takes place. The 1.8 kW system was built at the Junagadh Agricultural University experimental research farm in the state of Gujarat, India. As part of this setup, 12 PV panels, each rated at 150W, were installed in a checkerboard pattern to minimize shade on the plants and on a three-metre long structure to enable tractor movements.
“The solar azimuth and latitude angles determine the row-to-row distance of the panel, which researchers adjusted to 1.37 m for ease of panel cleaning and to maximize solar radiation. The panels are spaced 0.67 m apart to create a structure that resembles a chessboard,” the team explains. “The structural components are made with cold-rolled spiral tubes (CRC) of various sizes.”
To protect the crop from pests, a forty mesh insect net was used, with 40 openings per inch. They used 105.80 m2 net, which cost INR 3,174 ($37.62). CRC tubes cost INR 27,700, PV panels for INR 39,600, and inverter and wiring for INR 18,000. The materials used amounted to INR 88,474, or $1,048.67.
The crops are grown in tropical dry and wet environments, with temperatures ranging from 28 C to 38 C in summer, while average solar radiation ranges from 5 to 8 kWh/m2/day. In winter, temperatures are usually between 10 C and 25 C.”
The academics’ techno-economic analysis found that the system’s electrical efficiency peaked at 14.09% in February. The land equivalence ratio (LER) was calculated to be 1.97, meaning the setup yielded almost double the yield of the single-use growing setup. It produced 3,612 kWh of electricity, equivalent to 109.57 kWh/m2.
“The system contributes to reducing CO2 emissions and provides the farmer with an additional income of INR 174.63/m2. Farmers will benefit from a net profit of INR 95.26/m2 throughout the season,” the academics said. “The benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of the AV insect net house is 2.20, which significantly outperforms traditional greenhouses. This is attributed to farmers’ ability to generate income from sustainable and clean electricity, unlike greenhouses, where income is solely dependent on food production.”
The system was presented in “Development of an agrivoltaic insect net house to improve sustainable energy-food production: a techno-economic assessment”, published in Results in technology. Scientists from India’s Vellore Institute of Technology, Junagadh Agricultural University, Centurion University of Technology and Management and Spain’s Francisco de Vitoria University conducted the research.
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