Lessons Learned from Three Agrivoltaic Installations in New Jersey

Conference · Wed Jun 12 04:00:00 EDT 2024

OSTI ID:2477909

Both, A.J. ^[1]; Bamka, Bill ^[2]; Besançon, Thierry ^[2]; Birnie, Dunbar P. ^[2]; Burgher, Clint ^[2]; Gimenez, Daniel ^[2]; Guran, Serpil ^[2]; Kornitas, Michael ^[2]; Nitzsche, Pete ^[2]; Robinson, David ^[2]; Rucker, W. Ross ^[2]; Schoolman, Ethan ^[2]; Specca, David ^[2]; Sullivan, Kevin ^[2]; Ward, Dan ^[2]; Westendorf, Mike ^[2]; Wyenandt, Andy ^[2]

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1. Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, NJ (United States); Rutgers University, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
2. Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, NJ (United States)

Agrivoltaics is a new technology that has the potential to positively impact commercial farming by combining agricultural practices with the generation of solar energy. While some yield reduction is to be expected, resulting from less sunlight reaching the plant canopy and ground occupied by support structures, the generated electricity provides a low-risk supplemental income to farmers. In order to combine farming with electricity generation, agrivoltaic systems use a lower ground coverage ratio compared to normal solar farms and the PV panels are often mounted higher above the ground in order to facilitate the movement of agricultural equipment and to reduce the contrast between shaded and non-shaded areas. With funding provided from the state of New Jersey and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES), we designed and installed three unique agrivoltaic research systems at Rutgers/NJAES farms. These projects were recently completed and are generating electricity that is exported to the grid. This paper discusses the lessons we have learned along the way, including all the steps necessary to see an agrivoltaic project through to completion.

• Research Organization: Rutgers University
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office
• DOE Contract Number: EE0010439
• OSTI ID: 2477909
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
Agrivoltaics