Agrivoltaics Using Bi-Facial PVs for Permaculture in Utility-Scale Projects

As photovoltaic (PV) technology is rapidly becoming the most affordable, reliable, predictable and easily deployable electric generation technology of the modern world, we see continued growth in the scale and number of systems being deployed each year. The growth of market share in utility scale systems has rapidly eclipsed roof mounted over the past decade and is poised to become the most economic and environmentally friendly electric power source in the next few years. As this demand for utility scale system sites grows, developers turn increasingly to cleared lands and rich, agricultural lands to site their ever-larger solar farms. Recent press suggests that there is a growing resistance to PV systems, especially at these large, utility-scale project sizes when they take over farmland, creating a potential conflict with domestic food production. Our research attempts to demonstrate that there are multiple permaculture applications suitable under these large, utility-scale arrays which could potentially defuse this resistance by proving affordable permaculture production in these agrivoltaic settings. Based upon our spectroscopic analysis it is clear that certain crops will flourish better under bi-facial modules in utility-scale agrivoltaic applications when compared to standard PV modules. It is our hope that through more research with our student teams, we will demonstrate the success of plant growth and increased yields under these bi-facial arrays and identify a host of plant species that will thrive in agrivoltaic settings. Species that take advantage of the altered spectrum, will be favored, and while labor increases in the planting and harvesting beneath these agrivoltaic arrays, that the increases in organic product output may justify financially the use of rich farmland for both solar and plant farming.