A2A needs your help to improve current photovoltaic configurations to optimize solar energy generation in agricultural settings without compromising or competing with agricultural production. New commercial solutions are needed quickly, so we are looking for designs that can be implemented within 12-18 months. Up to 3 winners will share in a total prize purse of $30,000 (USD).
The need for clean energy production is clear. To meet 2050 Net Zero Emissions targets (IEA Global Energy Review 2021 - https://www.iea.org/reports/renewables-2021), renewable energy production has to increase quickly. Meeting these growth demands will require building many new photovoltaic (PV) plants — they need someplace to go where installation is quick, and start-up costs are affordable. Open areas are a great location, but this can put solar installations in competition with traditional agricultural uses.
As pressure increases to meet Net Zero Emissions targets, land use competition also increases. It’s a WIN-LOSE scenario — but it doesn’t have to be!
An emerging strategy is to co-locate photovoltaic arrays with traditional agricultural land uses, a strategy dubbed “dual-use farming” or agrophotovoltaics. In agrophotovoltaics, both solar energy and agricultural crops are produced in the same space. Crops (or livestock) are cultivated beneath or besides arrays of elevated solar panels. This relationship can actually improve farming yields, but the costs for installing elevated solar arrays are substantially higher than installing a solar array at ground level — 38% higher per kilowatt hour (kWh) according to a 2020 study (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.114737).
Interested in re-thinking and improving the way PVs are currently done? So is A2A - we are the biggest Italian life company promoting the sustainable growth of Italy, and guiding its ecological transition. A2A operates in the production, sale and distribution of gas and electricity, district heating, environmental services and the integrated water cycle while keeping the impact on the environment to a minimum.
A photovoltaic system today consists of several components: photovoltaic modules, field switchboard, wiring, inverter, measurement and protection systems. For this challenge, assume that the photovoltaic system is the set of photovoltaic modules that can be placed either in series (forming strings) or in parallel or both. The structure of the entire photovoltaic generator depends on different landscape characteristics of the site, which determine the width of the panels, the height of the center of rotation and the distance between rows in order to maximize the energy produced.
Improving on the current technology means considering multiple factors:
To be eligible for an award, your proposal must, at minimum:
Eligible solutions must at a minimum outline how they meet these specifications:
Based on the quality of the submissions, A2A may choose to reallocate the individual awards. In the unlikely case of no Winner and/or Runners Up, A2A reserves the right to withhold the Prize amount.
Contact / source: Innovative Agrophotovoltaics Structures Challenge | HeroX
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