IMPACT OF PHOTOVOLTAIC SHADING ON POTATO (SOLANUM TUBEROSUM) YIELD IN AN AGRIVOLTAIC SYSTEM: A SIMULATION STUDY IN THE NILE DELTA, EGYPT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35631/IJIREV.826049Keywords:
Agrivoltaics, Aquacrop, Irradiance Reduction, Nile Delta, Potato, Photovoltaic ShadingAbstract
The agrivoltaics systems delivers an opportunity to integrate solar PV energy generation with crop production in the same land, with the aim to increase land-use efficiency and to promote energy and agriculture production. However, the solar radiation received by the crops due to PV panel shading can impact the productivity of the crop. Agrivoltaic (AV) systems have been widely studied, but little research has been done concerning the effect of PV shading on potato (Solanum tuberosum) production under the climatic conditions of the Nile Delta, Egypt. In order to fill this gap, this study involved the coupling of System Advisor Model (SAM) with AquaCrop to assess the yield productivity of potato in a simulated agrivoltaic system at Kafr El Sheikh. PV performance and ground-level irradiation were estimated using SAM and the simulated irradiance data were fed into AquaCrop for the evaluation of potato growth under PV-shaded conditions. For comparison, an open-field simulation was used. The PV system's capacity factor was 21% and electricity production was about 2.1 GWh/year. Under PV shading, potato dry tuber yield decreased by about 15%, mostly because of reduced biomass accumulation, crop duration and harvest index were almost unaffected. Analysis shows a trade-off between renewable energy production and crop productivity and reveals the need to optimize the PV layout to reduce potato production losses in the Nile Delta.
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