Solar energy is the cheapest in history , but it does have some issues. A continuing challenge in large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) deployments is land use, which can be overcome with agrivoltaics particularly when integrated into controlled environmental agriculture. Agrivoltaics is the combination of solar energy and agriculture. Many crops increase their output with solar in the fields but less has been done with solar panels integrated into greenhouse rooftops. For greenhouse rooftops generally semi-transparent solar panels are used. Agrivoltaic greenhouses work well with tomatoes . Peppers are another common food crop grown in controlled environmental agriculture like greenhouses, but research investigating impacts of different semi-transparent photovoltaic agrivoltaic systems on hot peppers in northern regions was lacking. For this, a new study investigated the impact of partial solar shading on hot peppers in greenhouse.

Testing Spicy Peppers With Agrivoltaics

In the study a group of six semi-transparent photovoltaic modules with different materials, transparencies, and spectrum filtrations were deployed in greenhouses to compare their impacts on an Italian spicy peppers, Piccante De Cayenna, with those in the control greenhouse in Ilderton, Ontario.

Plant height, leaf chlorophyll content, and fresh harvested weight were measured. All the agrivoltaic treatments increased yield, however, 50%-transparent thin film-blue increased by 78%, 69%-transparent, red-colored luminescent solar concentrator crystalline silicon increased by 91%, and 44%-transparent patterned crystalline silicon solar cells improved yields by 138% compared to controls. The bottom line is you can get more than twice as much peppers by choosing agrivoltaic shading carefully.

Energy from Hot Peppers Agrivoltaic Greenhouses

Rooftop agrivoltaic energy simulations were conducted in SAM for a 1-acre greenhouse model whose rooftops can be integrated by the top three performing agrivoltaic modules. 123 kWdc for 50%-thin film-blue would produce 137,452 kWh/acre (278% of greenhouse needs) and the 69%- luminescent solar concentrator -red would house 98 kWdc covering 99,182 kWh/acre that is more than 200% of needs, and finally 266 kWdc for the 44%-c-Si would generate 255,297 kWh/acre annually and potentially produce over 516% of the greenhouse’s annual loads. All three of the top selections could power the greenhouses and have energy left over for other applications or to feet back to the grid.

The study concluded that the agrivoltaic greenhouses with semi-transparent solar modules that produced the highest yield of spicy peppers could also operate as net-sustainable energy exporters.