Shade-tolerant crops under photovoltaic panels

Are vertically placed solar panels suitable for shade-intolerant crops?

Vertically placed Bifacial PV, transparent, and semitransparent tilted PVs can be suitable for shade-intolerant crops whereas opaque PVs are appropriate for shade-tolerant crops. The knowledge gap between various stakeholders such as solar PV researchers, agricultural researchers, and land users needs to be more rigorous.

Could semi-transparent PV panels reduce shading on crops under agrivoltaic systems?

Semi-transparent PV panels, which combine the benefits of visible light transparency and light-to-electricity conversion, could reduce shading on crops under agrivoltaic systems. In fact, semi-transparent PV panels have already been developed for greenhouse-roof applications [ 20 ].

Does shade affect crop yields in agrivoltaic systems?

In contrast, maize and grain legumes experienced strong crop yield losses even at low shade levels. The results provide a set of initial indicators that may be used in assessing the suitability of crop types for shade systems, and thus for agrivoltaic or other dual land-use systems.

What is the difference between shade tolerant and shade susceptible crops?

Shade tolerant crops experience a decline in yield that is less than proportional to the level of shading. Shade susceptible crops, on the other hand, are defined as crops that show a disproportionately large decline in yield with shading.

Are agrivoltaics effective for shade tolerant plants?

The studies reviewed above only indicate that agrivoltaics are effective for plants that are shade tolerant: namely arugula, Asian greens, chard, collard greens, kale, mustard greens, parsley, sorrel, spinach, scallions, broccoli, kohlrabi, cabbage, hog peanut, alfalfa, yam, taro, cassava, and sweet potato [ 11 ].

Which crops can be grown under PV panels?

Tomato, lettuce, pepper, cucumbers and strawberries are the most studied crops under PV panels (Fig. 5). The recent literatures for applications of selective shading systems on the aforementioned crops and others plants are reviewed in the following sections.