STTR Phase I: Multiuse Rural Photovoltaic Module

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The broader impact/commercial impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to enable simultaneous use of farmland for farming and solar energy production. This project will advance a technology to appropriately direct sunlight into solar cells and farm use. This provides additional revenue to farmers and creates a controlled growth environment that requires less water, provides protection from hail and the elements, and extends the growing season. The technology enhances feedback because growing crops below the solar modules cools the region of the solar cells and improves their efficiency. This STTR Phase I project advances translation of new photovoltaic structures and physical mechanisms though the development of a new approach to semiconductor device, integrating advances on high efficiency with the robustness of silicon cells. This project will design an agrivoltaic module that optimizes the trade-offs between light to the photovoltaic module through optical concentration and light to the crops below. The R&D plan comprises four parts: (1) development of a simulation model that includes regional solar and economic data; (2) determination of the design parameters of the optical film (e.g., optical concentration, wavelength range, etc); (3) design of the solar cell integrated with the optical film; and (4) construction and field testing of the new solar module to show its beneficial impact on crops and the farming ecosystem.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.