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Actually, given the high investment costs for dual-use of solar and crops, it is economically better to just do each separately and commit the area fully to one

Actually, given the high investment costs for dual-use of solar and crops, it is economically better to just do each separately and commit the area fully to one or the other. That was the essence at least I got from an article about agrivoltaics in Germany.

epistasis 4y ago
I would like to see that article, as it runs contra the messaging I've heard from other studies over the past few years. It may depend a bit on the actual location. Germany has some of the very very worst solar conditions of anywhere in the world, worse than pretty much all of the US, and I've been primarily looking at studies with solar resources at US levels. I wouldn't be surprised if Germany has different solutions than most of the est of the world.
- lazide 4y ago
  It wouldn’t surprise me too if some of the studies in the US were places like Arizona, where too much sun is an issue for many crops (sun spotting, burning of leaves, excess water consumption), and some shade during peak insolation is not only beneficial for crops, but if you can do something with the energy? Even better. One really beneficial coupling in a lot of cases seems to be HVAC + solar in hot western climates.
  - Valgrim 4y ago
    I wonder if we could store cold for an HVAC in hot climates the same way a sand battery works. The poor man's version of this might look like this: 1- Connect your solar panel directly into a big freezer. 2- Fill your freezer to the brim with bottles full of saltwater. 3- Let it run to the coldest temperature possible. 4- Drill two ventilation holes (inlet up / outlet down) and connect to a small fan sucking the cold air where you need it. Anyone knows something like this?
    - pedrocr 4y ago
      This exists for big refrigerated warehouses. By using an appropriate liquid with the phase change tuned for the working temperature you can shift the electricity usage to times with lower cost. That can be because you have your own generation or are just buying market rates that vary.

epistasis 4y ago

I would like to see that article, as it runs contra the messaging I've heard from other studies over the past few years. It may depend a bit on the actual location. Germany has some of the very very worst solar conditions of anywhere in the world, worse than pretty much all of the US, and I've been primarily looking at studies with solar resources at US levels. I wouldn't be surprised if Germany has different solutions than most of the est of the world.

lazide 4y ago
It wouldn’t surprise me too if some of the studies in the US were places like Arizona, where too much sun is an issue for many crops (sun spotting, burning of leaves, excess water consumption), and some shade during peak insolation is not only beneficial for crops, but if you can do something with the energy? Even better. One really beneficial coupling in a lot of cases seems to be HVAC + solar in hot western climates.
- Valgrim 4y ago
  I wonder if we could store cold for an HVAC in hot climates the same way a sand battery works. The poor man's version of this might look like this: 1- Connect your solar panel directly into a big freezer. 2- Fill your freezer to the brim with bottles full of saltwater. 3- Let it run to the coldest temperature possible. 4- Drill two ventilation holes (inlet up / outlet down) and connect to a small fan sucking the cold air where you need it. Anyone knows something like this?
  - pedrocr 4y ago
    This exists for big refrigerated warehouses. By using an appropriate liquid with the phase change tuned for the working temperature you can shift the electricity usage to times with lower cost. That can be because you have your own generation or are just buying market rates that vary.