The wonderful chemical reaction of PV + agriculture
PV agriculture is a new type of agriculture that widely applies solar power generation to modern agricultural planting, breeding, irrigation and other fields. On the one hand, solar PV systems can use agricultural land to generate electricity directly at low cost. On the other hand, because thin-film solar cells have good light transmittance, most of the light sources needed for plant growth - red light and infrared light - can pass through, and they can store heat energy, raise the temperature inside the greenhouse, help plants grow in winter and save energy.
Now, the new combination of “PV + agriculture” has already been applied in many fields such as agricultural greenhouses, livestock roofs, fishery-PV complementary systems and livestock-PV complementary systems, bringing farmers an entirely new model of agricultural operation.
PV agricultural greenhouses
Agricultural greenhouses are the most widely used mode of operation in the practice of transforming the agricultural production environment. While realizing the functions of traditional greenhouses, PV agricultural greenhouses can also guarantee intelligent greenhouse management through solar power generation, achieving the integrated fusion of modern high technology and traditional agricultural planting. In thin-film solar PV greenhouses, the use of Hanergy transparent back-electrode thin-film modules allows high transmission of red light and infrared light, with even light transmission that does not affect crop growth, while also ensuring solar power generation and the lighting needs of crops throughout the greenhouse. They can be widely used in the cultivation of flowers and vegetables as well as in seedling raising and breeding. The electricity generated by solar power can support the greenhouse irrigation system, supplement light for plants, meet the winter heating needs of greenhouses, raise the greenhouse temperature and promote crop growth.
The power generation modules of thin-film PV agricultural greenhouses are comparable in weight to agricultural materials and can be perfectly combined with greenhouses, providing appropriate shade and increasing power generation income without occupying additional land. This has formed a new pattern in which multiple benefits proceed in parallel: PV power generation, energy conservation and emissions reduction, land conservation, increased agricultural output and higher farmer income. On the other hand, the use of PV agricultural greenhouses helps develop an integrated ecological project combining modern agriculture with tourism and sightseeing, increasing the economic income of agricultural investors.
Livestock roofs
While improving the growing environment for plants, the combination of PV and agriculture can also provide more “livable” housing for poultry and livestock. The PV power generation modules installed on the livestock roofs of farms bring multiple practical benefits at once. On the one hand, a livestock roof equipped with a PV power station can use limited space to generate electricity, provide electrical power for the farm and meet its daily electricity needs, ensuring electricity for equipment such as cooling, dehumidification and ventilation, and creating a living environment with suitable temperature and humidity, no emissions and no odors for poultry and livestock. On the other hand, the shading and heat-absorbing characteristics of thin-film solar cells themselves can also bring coolness to farms in summer and further save electricity.
Fishery-PV complementary system
Taking into account the many rivers, lakes and wetlands in eastern China, PV agriculture has also produced a new PV application form: the fishery-PV complementary system. As the name suggests, fishery-PV complementarity combines fisheries with PV power generation. By installing panels on the water surface and planning fish and shrimp farming below the water surface, it achieves a model in which aquaculture and power generation proceed in parallel, realizing dual use of one area. This method greatly improves the utilization efficiency of land or water surface and increases the output value per unit area of land. Through three-dimensional supports, rows of PV panels “float” on the water surface, and a fish pond is transformed into a PV power station.
“Power generation above, fish farming below”: fishery-PV complementarity can reduce aquaculture costs and the water surface environmental temperature, forming a good environment of sunlight, ventilation and cooling. This helps extend the service life of PV power generation modules and also improves the power generation efficiency of PV modules, opening a new path for the comprehensive development of the new energy industry in areas with dense river networks.
Livestock-PV complementary system
Using PV power stations to improve operating efficiency is equally feasible in livestock operations. Because PV power stations are mostly built on idle land such as the Gobi and deserts, planting forage grass beneath the solar panels of PV power stations can promote efficient use of land resources and play a role in windbreaks and sand fixation, improving soil erosion and conserving water sources. The green barrier formed by vegetation can also improve the surrounding environment of PV power stations and reduce losses caused to them by wind and sand. Through this “one grass, two uses” model, the PV industry ultimately drives ecological development.
In the fields of agriculture, livestock and fisheries, the combination of “PV + agriculture” has produced a wonderful chemical reaction, using space in three dimensions, generating clean electricity, expanding the proportion of renewable energy in power supply, promoting green agricultural production and realizing an efficient, technology-driven circular ecological agricultural production model. While providing convenience for agricultural production, PV agriculture can also raise the level of agricultural science and technology, improve farmers' lives and push rural areas to accelerate their transformation. Modern agriculture needs the support of PV technology, and the application value of PV products in agriculture is also immeasurable. Promoting the development of PV agriculture is a win-win path for developing modern agriculture and the PV industry.