Combining Solar Panels With Agriculture Makes Land More Productive

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Solar panels are wonderful things, but they do take up a lot of space, especially for larger, utility-scale systems. In some densely populated countries like China and India, where loss of farmland can lead to hungry people, floating solar farms are being built to take advantage of the surface area of lakes and rivers. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute For Solar Energy Systems have conducted an experiment near Lake Constance — which borders Germany, Lichtenstein, and Switzerland — regarding another solution.

solar panels and crops

According to a Fraunhofer press release, the experiment involves 720 bi-facial solar panels covering about a third of a hectare of agricultural land (on the Demeter farm cooperative Heggelbach). The panels are mounted high enough to allow the crops planted below to receive almost as much sunshine as they would if the panels were not there and to permit farm machinery to operate beneath them. After a year of trials, the research showed the dual use system increased the total productivity of the land by 60%.

© Photo Hofgemeinschaft Heggelbach

Fraunhofer refers to the dual use system as “agrophotovoltaics,” or APV. “APV has the potential to open up new space that is urgently needed for the PV expansion in Germany, says professor Hans-Martin Henning, the director of Fraunhofer ISE. “At the same time, APV can mitigate the conflicting interests between agriculture and open space PV systems for viable land. Before market readiness, however, other sectors and differently sized systems still must be tested. Also, the technical integration must be further advanced, for example, the implementation of storage.”

The first crops tested were winter wheat, potatoes, celeriac, and clover grass. “The crop yield of clover grass under the PV array was only 5.3 percent less than the reference plot,” reports professor Petera Högy, an agricultural expert at the University of Hohenheim. The yield for potatoes, wheat and celeriac were about 19 percent less.

“From the perspective of agricultural science, agrophotovoltaics is a promising solution for increasing both the land use efficiency and the share of renewable energy provided by the agricultural sector,” says professor Iris Lewandowski, who heads up the department of biobased products and energy crops at the University of Hohenheim.

The 194 kilowatt solar installation generated 1266 kilowatt-hours of electricity per installed kilowatt, one third more than the average value of 950 kilowatt-hours per kilowatt in Germany. 40% of the power produced was used to charge the batteries of the electric farm equipment and harvest crops. The team believes 70% of the energy could be utilized if a storage battery was included in the system. Any excess electricity was sold to Elektrizitätswerke Schönau, an electric utility company that uses 100% renewable energy and is a partner in the project.

“In order to provide the necessary proof-of-concept before market entry, we need to compare further techno-economical applications of APV, demonstrate the transferability to other regional areas and also realize larger systems,” says project manager Stephan Schindele. Experiments involving solar in combination with fruits, berries, hops, and grapes are planned for the future, along with various technologies such as energy storage, special films with organic solar cells, and solar PV water treatment systems.

While more research is needed, the initial results indicate that APV is a significant step forward for solar power in agricultural settings.

This article was originally published on November 24th, 2017 by   https://cleantechnica.com/

RENEWABLE ENERGY: SMART GREENHOUSES GENERATE SOLAR POWER AND GROW CROPS AT THE SAME TIME

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Tomatoes and cucumbers appear to grow just fine—and just as healthily—in smart, solar-powered greenhouses that capture solar energy for electricity.

Scientists from the University of California, Santa Cruz, have shown how crops can grow as healthily in these new greenhouses as they do in conventional greenhouses.

“We have demonstrated that ‘smart greenhouses’ can capture solar energy for electricity without reducing plant growth, which is pretty exciting,” Michael Loik, professor of environmental studies at UCSC, said in a press release. Loik is the lead author for the paper, published in the American Geophysical Union’s journal Earth’s Future. 

Solar Power Trapped by a Red Roof

Bright magenta panels cover the tops of the greenhouses, soaking up sunlight and transferring the energy to photovoltaic strips. From there, electricity is produced.

The greenhouses are able to take sunlight for energy and leave the rest, allowing plants to grow using a technology called Wavelength-Selective Photovoltaic Systems (WSPVs). The technology, developed by co-authors Sue Carter and Glenn Alers, is less expensive and more efficient than traditional photovoltaic systems.

The team tested the growth and fruit production across 20 varieties of tomatoes, cucumbers, lemons, limes, peppers, strawberries and basil at two locations at the Santa Cruz campus and one in Watsonville, California. Scientists reported that 80 percent of the plants were unaffected by the slightly darker lighting from the magenta panels, and 20 percent of the crops grew better. Tomato plants needed 5 percent less water under the magenta panels.

Reducing the energy used in greenhouses is crucial since the use of greenhouses to grow food has increased by sixfold in the past 20 years, according to Loik.

Solar-powered greenhouses are one of several developments for new ways of farming in recent years.

loik-greenhouse-320
Plants grown in the smart greenhouse were just as good as plants grown in conventional greenhouses. NICK GONZALES

Smart Greenhouse Detects Infestations

Another company, NatureSweet, has outfitted its greenhouses in Arizona with artificial intelligence, reported CNN. The plants are monitored with 10 cameras installed in the greenhouse ceilings which continuously take photographs to detect insect infestations or dying plants.

The software, developed by a company called Prospera, recognizes those problem spots and sends feedback 24/7. Previously, reported CNN, NatureSweet’s employees walked through the greenhouse in order to spot issues with the plants.

Green roofs are another method of growing food in an attempt to utilize space and close gaps in access to foods in urban areas.

In Washington, D.C., Up Top Acres has opened five urban farms on the rooftops of buildings since 2015, reported Washington City Paper. Green roofs improve storm-water collection, habitat protection and energy preservation, in addition to providing food. The company’s co-founder, Kathleen O’Keefe, told the paper that the company may not produce enough food for the city, but green roofs can change the way people think about food, in addition to utilizing unused space.

This article was originally published by BY  

 

World’s First Solar Powered Indoor Vertical Farm Comes To Philadelphia

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It’s always sunny in Philadelphia, according to the title of a popular television show. If so, it’s the perfect place for the world’s first solar powered indoor vertical farm.

solar powered indoor vertical garden

Metropolis Farms has constructed a 500 kilowatt solar array made up of 2003 solar panels on the roof of a building in The City of Brotherly Love. On the fourth floor, it is constructing a vertical farm that will be powered entirely by electricity coming from the roof. It plans to grow the equivalent of 660 outdoor acres worth of crops in less than 100,000 sq feet. “The panels are already installed and turned on, now we’re building out the farm. The first crops will be planted in November,” the company says.

Before Metropolis Farms took over the space, the only things growing on the fourth floor were pigeons. But soon, crops of fresh tomatoes, strawberries, lettuce, herbs, and broccoli will flourish there for the benefit of the citizens of Philadelphia and environs. “We feel this inherently demonstrates the wonder of this new industry we’re helping create, the industry of indoor farming.”

The company goes on to say,

“To this point, the city of Philadelphia has only ~8 acres of urban farming, mainly because there’s no available land for growing crops traditionally. By bringing the growing process indoors, in line with our mission of social responsibility, we are revitalizing abandoned spaces and are using them for local food production. We are empowering a new generation of farmers to grow food for cities, in cities.

“This technology democratizes the ability to grow local food in any community, regardless of location or climate. We’re doing this because local food is just better. Local food is more nutritious than food that’s packed in a truck and travels for weeks, it tastes better, and growing food in the communities where it’s eaten helps stimulate the local economy.”

Detractors of indoor farming point out the high cost of powering all the lights and circulation pumps needed, but Metropolis Farms thinks its rooftop solar array will answer the critics.

“The truth is, like any technology, indoor farming is constantly improving upon itself. We have gained efficiencies through innovative lighting (not LEDs), BTU management systems, and other means to dramatically reduce the amount of energy our farms are using.

“And we are on the cusp of a breakthrough in a technology that will reduce our energy usage even further. We hope to demonstrate this new technological advancement at this year’s Indoor Ag-Con, hosted for the first time in Philadelphia. We are pushing the envelope by attempting to build a zero-carbon farm. Through water recapture techniques, renewable energy production, advanced energy systems, and most importantly by farming locally, we are on the right track.”

Another benefit of vertical gardening is a dramatic decrease in the amount of pesticidesneeded to grow fresh food. Not only will the crops not be covered in chemicals, neither will the environment surrounding the vertical garden. That’s a huge benefit that should not be discounted. “We hope others will follow our lead and start building farms of the future, so communities everywhere can benefit from having a quality local food source that grows crops responsibly,” say the leaders of Metropolis Farms.

Source and photo credit: Metropolis Farms

This article was originally published on October 3rd, 2017 by 

of www.cleantechnica.com

 

Measuring your energy performance to mitigate the threat of cost pressures and regulations

Posted on by cannasolar

Sustainability is a broad topic with deep engagement in a variety of industries, though it is a relatively new conversation in cannabis. That said, in today’s rapidly scaling and globalizing market, intelligent cannabis investors and operators are beginning to contemplate how sustainability can add value to their ventures.

Personally, after two decades of sustainability experience in a variety of industries, I prefer the term “resource efficiency” over sustainability because it is more clear and ties directly to the bottom line.

With impeccable timing given the state of today’s competitive market, Arcview hosted the first major cannabis investor discussion on sustainability a few weeks ago in San Francisco. I was honored to speak alongside Emily Paxhia of Poseidon, Frederick Schilling of Klersun and Francis Priznar of Arcview.

The Arcview speakers borrowed from their experiences in other sectors as they laid out the reasons why sustainability—or resource efficiency—matters in cannabis:

  • Mitigating cost pressures through improving the efficiency of operations
  • Enabling brand differentiation in a crowded marketplace
  • Protecting the industry’s reputation (i.e., ensuring the entire sector is not tarnished by the image of inefficient indoor energy hogs that disrupt electricity grids)
  • Attracting investor interest
  • Enhancing valuation
  • Getting ahead of oncoming regulations on natural resource use (Massachusetts recently mandated use of LED lighting in indoor grows and California will soon be writing its rules setting targets on efficiency and renewables.)

One question from the audience, while seemingly simple, was particularly insightful and generated an inspired response from the panel. “How do you get started on a sustainability journey?”

The responses essentially advised:

  1. Evaluate your business activities
  2. Take an inventory of your natural resource impacts
  3. Dive into the process of determining how to reduce one of your significant line items
  4. Take the savings you mined and plow them into additional profit-maximizing activities

Energy expenses generally range from 25 to 50 percent of an overall cost structure of a cultivation operation that incorporates controlled environments (indoor or greenhouse). I recommend starting there. We at the non-profit Resource Innovation Institute created a free, peer-reviewed energy benchmarking tool called the Cannabis PowerScore to point the way to an efficient industry future.

More than 100 cultivation facility operators have contributed data about their energy consumption, technology use and production output. In return, they receive an instant benchmark that compares their energy performance to their peers, while identifying operational weak points and resources to drive energy savings. All farm-identifiable data is kept confidential.

Resource Innovation Institute then uses the aggregate, anonymous data to inform governments, utilities and manufacturers how to shape policies, incentives and R&D to drive conservation and establish industry standards. In essence, we are playing a role much like the federal government does with the Energy Star label.

It’s critical that industry leaders take an initial step toward sustainability not just for their own benefit, but also to enable the industry to establish baselines and figure out the most efficient pathways forward so that geographies know how to compete in the global marketplace. We need to move away from our history of secrecy and elevate crowdsourced best practices.

We can only do this through objective analysis of data. After all, literally no one knows with a significant level of confidence how to optimize efficient techniques and technologies across a range of cultivation settings and climate zones. For example, running an efficient operation in Arizona is vastly different than doing so in Massachusetts.

Last week, we announced that RII will produce a Cannabis Energy Report in partnership with New Frontier Data and Scale Microgrid Solutions. This groundbreaking report will be the definitive guide to support investors, operators, policymakers and others to make decisions on how best to create a profitable, resource efficient future for cannabis. The analysis will be based on the crowdsourced Cannabis PowerScore data.

Start your sustainability journey and get your instant energy performance benchmark by encouraging one of your team members to invest a few minutes engaging with the Cannabis PowerScore. If you participate by August 31, your data will be incorporated into the analysis for the Cannabis Energy Report and will give you the best understanding of how competitive your facility is.

With your valuable input, we can simultaneously chart the best course for industry efficiency and help boost your bottom line.

 

This article was originally published,

by

at  http://www.mjbizdaily.com

 

 

Airbus Zephyr Solar High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite flies for longer than any other aircraft during its successful maiden flight

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  • Touch down after 25 days, 23 hours, and 57 minutes
  • System capabilities demonstrated
  • Maiden Flight objectives achieved

Farnborough, 8 August 2018 – Airbus Defence and Space announced the successful landing of its first production aircraft of the Zephyr programme, the new Zephyr S HAPS (High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite). After taking off on 11th July in Arizona, USA, Zephyr S logged a maiden flight of over 25 days, the longest duration flight ever made. An application has been made to establish this as a new world record. This maiden flight of the solar-powered Zephyr S proves the system capabilities and achieved all the flight’s engineering objectives.

The previous longest flight duration record was also logged by a Zephyr prototype aircraft a few years ago, achieving then more than 14 days continuous flight, which already was ten times longer than any other aircraft in the world.

This new record flight was supported by the UK government and reflects the UK Ministry of Defence’s position as the first customer for this innovative and potentially game-changing capability.

General Sir Chris Deverell, Commander UK’s Joint Forces Command, said:

“This is a great example of how JFC is at the heart of innovation for UK Defence. We are demonstrating new technology that puts our Armed forces at the cutting edge of communication and surveillance”

Zephyr is the world’s leading, solar–electric, stratospheric Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). It harnesses the sun’s rays, running exclusively on solar power, above the weather and conventional air traffic; filling a capability gap complimentary to satellites, UAVs and manned aircraft to provide persistent local satellite-like services.

“This very successful maiden flight represents a new significant milestone in the Zephyr programme, adding a new stratospheric flight endurance record which we hope will be formalised very shortly. We will in the coming days check all engineering data and outputs and start the preparation of additional flights planned for the second half of this year from our new operating site at the Wyndham airfield in Western Australia” said Jana Rosenmann, Head of Unmanned Aerial Systems at Airbus.

Zephyr will bring new see, sense and connect capabilities to both commercial and military customers. Zephyr will provide the potential to revolutionize disaster management, including monitoring the spread of wildfires or oil spills. It provides persistent surveillance, tracing the world’s changing environmental landscape and will be able to provide communications to the most unconnected parts of the world.

This article was originally published Aug 9 on www.suasnews.com