Solar Sharing: Assessing the potential for co-locating agriculture and renewable energy production in drylands

在多变的气候下，为我们日益增长的粮食和可再生能源生产需求找到一个可持续的解决方案仍然是一个巨大的挑战。该项目将研究在同一块土地上同时生产粮食和可再生能源的可能性--这种做法被称为“农业光伏”。在太阳能光伏电池板的树冠下种植粮食可能会带来多种好处，包括提高土地利用效率，同时减少对自然景观的影响。然而，农作物和太阳能电池板对温度和气候的变化都很敏感。这项比较研究将把传统环境中的工厂和太阳能电池板性能的现场测量与这种新型的代管系统联系起来，以确定农业太阳能电池的成本和收益。这项研究将在多个旱地环境中进行，以扩大对农业太阳能对不同气候、灌溉法规和社会背景的适应程度的科学了解。当地农民、来自传统上代表性不足的群体的K-12学生以及大学合作伙伴将领导研究和教育工作。这项研究中生产的食品将与社区分享，以及科学发现。食品和能源安全是国家优先事项。两者都需要土地来生产，而且对温度和气候的变化都很敏感。对粮食和能源不断增长的需求只会加剧对生产它们的土地的竞争。通过采取更全面的系统方法，并将研究重点放在温度、降水时间和社会背景不同的多个旱地环境中，将食品和能源生产放在一起可以对食品、能源和水系统产生积极影响。利用实地测量和数值模拟相结合的方法，该项目将评估农伏发电在改变水、碳和能源在生态系统中的流动方式方面的影响，包括微气象影响、碳循环和储存、粮食和能源生产，以及减轻对环境压力的敏感性。从食物系统的角度来看，这项研究将确定1)在太阳能电池板的遮荫下种植如何缓解植物对高光和高水分的压力，2)如何延长作物的生长季，3)土壤遮荫在多大程度上有助于减缓蒸发，从而减少旱地的灌溉需求。从能源的角度来看，这项研究将检验太阳能电池板可以通过作物林下蒸腾水分损失的被动过程来冷却多少。将粮食和能源生产放在同一地点不仅可以减少土地使用冲突，还可以增加更多边际土地的生产。这一裁决反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Finding a sustainable solution to our growing needs for food and renewable energy production under a variable climate remains a grand challenge. This project will examine the potential for co-locating food and renewable energy production on the same parcel of land – a practice called ‘agrivoltaics’. Growing food in the understory of a canopy of solar photovoltaic panels may lead to multiple benefits, including increasing the efficiency of land use, while reducing the need for impacting natural landscapes. However, both crops and solar panels are sensitive to changes in temperature and climate. This comparative research will link field measurements of plant and solar panel performance in a traditional setting and this novel co-location system to determine the costs and benefits of agrivoltaics. This research will be conducted across multiple dryland environments to broaden scientific learning about how well suited agrivoltaics is to different climates, irrigation laws, and social contexts. Local farmers, K-12 students from traditionally underrepresented groups, and university partners will lead the research and education efforts. The food produced in the study will be shared with the community, along with the scientific findings.Food and energy security are national priorities. Both require land for production and are sensitive to changes in temperature and climate. Mounting demands for food and energy will only increase competition for land dedicated to their production. Co-locating food and energy production can have positive impacts across food, energy, and water systems by taking a more holistic systems approach and focusing the research across multiple dryland environments that vary in terms of temperature, timing of precipitation, and social context. Using a blend of field measurements and numerical modeling, this project will assess the impacts of agrivoltaics in terms of altering how water, carbon, and energy move through an ecosystem in terms of micrometeorological impacts, carbon cycling and storage, food and energy production, and mitigating sensitivities to environmental pressures. From a food system perspective, this research will determine 1) how being grown in the shade of solar panels can ease plant stress to high light and water demands, 2) how it might extend the growing season of crops, and 3) how much the shading of soils help slow evaporation, thus reducing the need for irrigation in drylands. From an energy perspective, the research will examine how much a solar panel can be cooled by the passive process of transpirational water loss from an understory of crops. Co-locating food and energy production may not only reduce land use conflicts, but also increase the production of more marginal lands.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.