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Research Project: Sustainable Production and Pest Management Practices for Nursery, Greenhouse, and Protected Culture Crops

Location: Application Technology Research

Title: Design guidelines for luminescent solar concentrator greenhouses in the United States

Author
item LOH, KRISTINE - University Of Minnesota
item Harbick, Kale
item EYLANDS, NATHAN - University Of Minnesota
item KORTSHAGEN, UWE - University Of Minnesota
item FERRY, VIVIAN - University Of Minnesota

Submitted to: Advanced Sustainable Systems
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/17/2024
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: This study demonstrates the potential of luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) to save electrical energy/costs for some greenhouses. LSCs eliminate the need for solar tracking as they can also utilize diffuse sunlight. 48 locations across the US were modeled to determine electrical savings. Results show that the technology is especially promising in southern latitudes due to higher available solar resource.

Technical Abstract: Agrivoltaic greenhouses combine controlled environment agriculture and photovoltaics in one plot of land to simultaneously address the global challenges of renewable energy and sustainable food production. Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) can benefit these systems by providing additional design flexibility, granting the ability to tune light transmission for plant growth while generating electricity. Herein, we determine design guidelines for the implementation of LSCs in agrivoltaic greenhouses given the two competing priorities of light used for crop yield or for energy generation. Using a comprehensive model, we evaluate the impact of LSC design choices on the greenhouse environment, energy generation, crop yield, and economic value in 48 locations across the contiguous United States. We show the PV coverage ratio and the greenhouse’s heating demands determine the energy offset provided by the LSC. For improving crop yield, luminophore selection should maximize transmitted red light. We demonstrate the sensitivity of the economic value to crop yield, thus dictating luminophore selection for optimizing plant growth. Based on current project technology costs, LSC greenhouses are as profitable as conventional greenhouses generally for states below 40 °N. Future improvements to LSC manufacturing may allow previously unprofitable LSC greenhouses to become economically viable in northern states. This work showcases the broad design space for LSCs in agrivoltaic systems and the strong potential of integrating LSCs into greenhouses.