Solar Greenhouses. Alternative Energy A Regional Working Group. Harvesting the sun twice

Transcription

1 Solar Greenhouses Alternative Energy A Regional Working Group Harvesting the sun twice

2 Background The world is seeking for land to place PV solar panels PV solar panels compete agriculture for available land Intensive agriculture is moving towards closed controlled Greenhouses

3 The challenge Implementing this technology requires careful measurements and testing to optimize power production and greenhouse yields The opportunity Generating electricity especially in rural areas Increasing farmers income Creating a sustainable and applicable model for the entire region

4 The Need Efficient & inexpensive solar technology that could be integrated with traditional greenhouses Utilizing the land and the sun twice both to grow crops and to generate electricity The challenge: Utilizing Greenhouse covers to produce electricity WITHOUT harming crop productivity

5 Project Partners

6 Why a regional research program? Though the region is exposed to similar levels of solar radiation, there are variations in the greenhouse crops used, the months per year of using the greenhouses for agriculture, labor rates, green-electricity rates, connection to the grid and more. Therefore, demonstrating and analyzing this technology on a regional level (Jordan, Israel and Palestine) adds a unique perspective.

7 Innovative Technology Lightweight & flexible semitransparent PV films Based on dye-sensitized nano-scale materials Partially transparent to selective range of light spectrum Low capital costs Fast & easy integration to greenhouse covers PV cell efficiency is ~5%, which means 30-50W/m2

8 Tailored-made PV film: PolyMiri* Semi-transparent PV film for dual use of the solar spectrum: the photosynthesis wavelengths that pass through the films support the crops cultivated inside the greenhouses, while the rest of the spectrum is converted to electricity, which can be used for internal energy needs, or sold to the grid. Greenhouse-integrated solar photovoltaics = harvesting the sun twice. * After Dr. Miri Lapidot

9 The Project Goal Study the feasibility of merging the semi-transparent PV film technology with Greenhouse farming. Research question: Could Greenhouse covers be utilized to produce electricity WITHOUT harming crop productivity? Sell excess electricity to grid / supply electricity to off grid areas Grid independent agriculture CO 2 Credits

10 Experimental Design The greenhouse will be divided in two parts: Non-covered part (the control part) and a PV-covered part The Part with the film will be % covered Tested crops include: Microalgae, seaweed, tomato, cucumber and flowers. The measured data include: Temperature, humidity and light intensity will be collected by data loggers every 2 hours Crop yield, morphology and any disease development will be measured on a weekly basis

11 Experimental Results: Summery Crop PV Film Coverage Location Influence on crop productivity Microalgae 100% Arizona - 10% Seaweed 70% Michmoret - 20% Tomato 33% Bet Or El- Fuka + 40% Cucumber 100% Kfar Kari No remarkable differences Flowers 100% Kfar Kari No remarkable differences

12 Microalgae Experiment-Arizona

13 Microalgae experiment The crop: Green micro-algae The cover: 100% coverage tide to the plastic sleeves Results: The impact on growth was variable on the qualities of each PV material The negative impact on algae productivity was reduced with the blue film Minor reduction was observed in angled system

14 Seaweeds experiment- Michmoret

15 Seaweeds experiment The crop: Seaweed- Gracilaria conferta The cover: Semi-transparent red PV Films, 70% Pond top-covered, 50 cm above. C1- Control C2- Cover only C3- Cover + film

16 Seaweeds experiment Light Measurements: Treatment Daliy Ave. Temp. ( C) Ave. Max. Intesity mem- 2 s -1 Ave. Mini. Intesity mem- 2 s -1 Ave. Intesity mem- 2 s -1 % of Intensity Compare to control C1 - Control C2- Cover + PV film C3- Cover only

17 Seaweed- growth rate analysis Cover of 70% and 50 cm above surface cause reduction of 10-30% No influence of bio-chemical composition Growth Rate as % of control Film CYCLE treatment Empty Cover Harvest % % % % Harvest % % % % Harvest % % % % Harvest % 83.85% Daily Yield gr/m2/d/cycle Series1 250 Series2 Series Series Series Series Cycles & Values

18 Tomato experiment- Bet Or El-Fuka

19 Tomato experiment - The experimental Setup Covered with 80% shade Regular GH Cover 30% Cover with PV-Film

20 Tomato experiment Experimental system

21 Here they come

22 Tomato experiment Data Collection

23 Tomato experiment- Results When the experiment began on 7/7/2010, there were flowers and unripe fruits. After these weeks and during the second reading there were beginning of fruits maturity. The first harvest was on 28/7/2010. The heat caused by high temperatures wave which hit the region during august 2010 and it's influence on the trial will be examined after extracting the data from meteorology multi-log apparatus.

24 Results Tomato Yield comparison Date Jul 28 Aug 4 Aug 11 Aug15 Aug 19 Aug 24 Aug 28 Sep 2 Sep 5 Sep 15 Sep 21 Total Total yield PV (g) Total yield Control (g) Total yield Shade (g) PV-Film Cover Shade cover Control

25 Cucumber experiment- Kfar Kari

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27 The PV-Thin Film inside the Greenhouse

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29 Cucumber experiment Results

30 Flowers experiment- Kfar Kari

31 Mini Greenhouse in Kfar-Kari The green house total area is 1.5*3.0 = 4.5m 2

32 No remarkable differences between flowers in both parts of the greenhouse PV- Cover No PV-cover

33 Interim Results It is possible to generate electricity in greenhouses without damaging the agricultural yields The specific spectrum for each crop has to be determined by further research The technology shows great promise in the region

34 Cross border Initiatives for Environmental Peacebuilding TED inspired event

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36 Dr. Ibrahim Yehia: Greatness is achieved by those who are not afraid to try it again and again without stopping dreaming!! Tareq Abuhamed: it was not enough for us to talk about peace, we believed in it, even that was not enough for us, we worked for it