Rutgers selects SolarEdge for Agrivoltaics Research and Development

by Clarence Oxford

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 03, 2024

SolarEdge Technologies reports that its technology has been selected by Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, as part of an innovative research and demonstration program to explore the potential of dual use agrivoltaics (the combination of agricultural production and solar energy generation simultaneously on the same land) for farmers across the state.

Rutgers research will assist the Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program that will be administered by the NJBPU. The pilot program is a three-year, 200 MW agrivoltaics initiative with the goal of exploring the feasibility and benefits of agrivoltaics. The pilot program is a collaborative effort including the NJBPU, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, the State Agricultural Development Committee, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and the Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program.

The results and data from the research program will be used to inform the establishment of a permanent Dual-Use Solar Program in New Jersey. The Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program includes three sites, each using a different panel mounting method to investigate the impact on agricultural production and electricity generation:

+ Rutgers Animal Farm in New Brunswick has vertically mounted bifacial panels and will be used for the production of forage crops and beef cattle grazing (170 kWDC installed and grid-connected)

+ Snyder Research and Extension Farm in Pittstown has single-axis trackers and will be used for hay production (94.5 kWDC installed and 82.4 kWDC grid-connected)

+ Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Bridgeton has single axis trackers with both single-wide and double-wide rows of panels and will be used for the production of vegetable and staple crops. (255 kWDC installed and 48.6 kWDC grid-connected)

+ At each site, the research will evaluate electricity output, using Module Level Power Electronics (MLPE) for the measurement and analysis of energy production.

Agrivoltaics is a fast-growing and hugely exciting sector that provides a solution for many of the business challenges that farmers are facing today from managing rising energy costs to moving to more sustainable production.

However, we are still at the start of this journey. The aim of our research is to develop knowledge that will help to establish practices that can help improve both the sustainability and viability of farms through safe and regulated adoption of solar energy. We are excited to be working with SolarEdge to achieve these goals, said Margaret Brennan-Tonetta, Director for Resource and Economic Development and Senior Associate Director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.

Bertrand Vandewiele General Manager of SolarEdge in North America, said: Agrivoltaics is a perfect example of a real win-win. This practice allows for expanded solar development to address climate change, without the land-use challenges often associated with ground mounted solar developments. It can also provide benefits for farmers, allowing a stable revenue stream and protection against climate hazards. In the U.S., there are more than 500 Agrivoltaics sites, producing a total of 9 GW of solar energy.

These numbers are likely to grow as interest in Agrivoltaics has been greatly expanding, as indicated by the increase in support and funding for this sector. For example, the U.S. Department of Agricultures funding for Agrivoltaics more than tripled from 2021 to 2022.

Farmers are able to move to more sustainable and profitable production without substantially reducing space for growing crops in fact agrivoltaics can potentially boost the production of certain shade-tolerant crops by providing protection from direct sunlight, while the cooler temperature below the panels reduces water evaporation. Meanwhile, the end consumer can feel good about choosing produce from sustainable farms. Through this collaboration with Rutgers University, we look forward to playing our part in helping to advance the adoption of more sustainable and profitable farming practices.

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Giant clams may hold the answers to making solar energy more efficient

by Jim Shelton for Yale News

New Haven CT (SPX) Jul 03, 2024

Solar panel and biorefinery designers could learn a thing or two from iridescent giant clams living near tropical coral reefs, according to a new Yale-led study.

This is because giant clams have precise geometries – dynamic, vertical columns of photosynthetic receptors covered by a thin, light-scattering layer – that may just make them the most efficient solar energy systems on Earth.

“It’s counter-intuitive to a lot of people, because clams operate in intense sunlight, but actually they’re really dark on the inside,” said Alison Sweeney, associate professor of physics and of ecology and evolutionary biology in Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences. “The truth is that clams are more efficient at solar energy conversion than any existing solar panel technology.”

In the new study, published in the journal PRX: Energy, a research team led by Sweeney presents an analytical model for determining the maximum efficiency of photosynthetic systems based on the geometry, movement, and light-scattering characteristics of giant clams. It is the latest in a series of research studies from Sweeney’s lab that highlight biological mechanisms from the natural world that could inspire new sustainable materials and designs.

In this case, the researchers looked specifically at the impressive solar energy potential of iridescent giant clams in the shallow waters of Palau in the Western Pacific.

The clams are photosymbiotic, with vertical cylinders of single-celled algae growing on their surface. The algae absorb sunlight – after the light has been scattered by a layer of cells called iridocytes.

Both the geometry of the algae and the light scattering of the iridocytes are important, the researchers say. The algae’s arrangement in vertical columns – which makes them parallel to the incoming light – enables the algae to absorb sunlight at the most efficient rate. This is because the sunlight has been filtered and scattered by the layer of iridocytes, and the light then wraps uniformly around each vertical algae cylinder.

Based on the giant clams’ geometry, Sweeney and her colleagues developed a model to calculate quantum efficiency – the ability to convert photons into electrons. The researchers also factored in fluctuations in sunlight, based on a typical day in the tropics with a sunrise, midday sun intensity, and sunset. The quantum efficiency was 42%.

But then the researchers added a new wrinkle: the way giant clams stretch themselves in reaction to changes in sunlight. “Clams like to move and groove throughout the day,” Sweeney said. “This stretching moves the vertical columns farther apart, effectively making them shorter and wider.”

With this new information, the clam model’s quantum efficiency jumped to 67%. By comparison, Sweeney said, a green leaf system’s quantum efficiency in a tropical environment is only about 14%.

An intriguing comparison, according to the study, would be northern spruce forests. The researchers said boreal spruce forests, surrounded by fluctuating layers of fog and clouds, share similar geometries and light-scattering mechanisms with giant clams, but on a much larger scale. And their quantum efficiency is nearly identical.

“One lesson from this is how important it is to consider biodiversity, writ large,” Sweeney said. “My colleagues and I continue to brainstorm about where else on Earth this level of solar efficiency might happen. It is also important to recognize we can only study biodiversity in places where it is maintained.”

She added: “We owe a major debt to Palauans, who put vital cultural value on their clams and reefs and work to keep them in pristine health.”

Such examples may offer inspiration and insights for more efficient sustainable energy technology.

“One could envision a new generation of solar panels that grow algae, or inexpensive plastic solar panels that are made out of a stretchy material,” Sweeney said.

The study’s first author is Amanda Holt, an associate research scientist in Sweeney’s lab. The study’s co-author is Lincoln Rehm, a Palauan-American and former graduate student at Drexel University and researcher at the Palau International Coral Reef Center, who is now at the National Oceanography and Atmospheric Administration.

The research was funded by a Packard Foundation fellowship and the National Science Foundation.

Research Report:Simple Mechanism for Optimal Light-Use Efficiency of Photosynthesis Inspired by Giant Clams

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New lithium plant inaugurated in Argentina

by AFP Staff Writers

Salta, Argentina (AFP) July 3, 2024

French mining group Eramet and China’s Tsingshan on Wednesday inaugurated a lithium production plant in Argentina to supply the booming electric car industry.

The site in the northwestern province of Salta represents an investment of $870 million dollars, Eramet said.

The plant is not a traditional mine nor one of the environmentally damaging salt flats from which the metal used in electric batteries is normally extracted in South America’s so-called lithium triangle of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile.

Instead it uses an innovative “direct extraction” method, according to Eramet.

The plant is expected to produce up to 24,000 tons of battery-grade lithium carbonate per year at full capacity, Eramet CEO Christel Bories told AFP — enough for 600,000 electric vehicle batteries.

In 2021, when Eramet announced it was reviving the project with Tsingshan, delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, Bories said the plant was expected to meet 15 percent of Europe’s lithium needs.

Production is planned to start in November with 350 employees.

Argentina is the fourth-biggest producer of the so-called “white gold”, after Australia, Chile and China.

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ERAMET

Umicore

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