Developing a new agrivoltaic system in greenhouses

The University of Jaén (UJA) and the Murcian Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research and Development (IMIDA) are participating in the GLASS project, a research project that aims to design new high-performance and low-cost agrivoltaic greenhouses (APV) that promote sustainability in the agricultural and energy fields. The study is led by the Advances in Photovoltaic Technology Research Group (AdPVTech) of the University of Jaén. For its part, IMIDA is contributing its experience in optimizing crop productivity and quality. Also J. Huete is participating in the project.

The GLASS project, which began in 2023 and will last until 2025, includes the construction of a pilot agrivoltaic greenhouse with which both J. Huete International and the UJA and IMIDA will demonstrate the viability of this type of installation in a real market.

Specifically, this greenhouse will have innovative photovoltaic solutions specially developed for protected cultivation. Photovoltaic technologies will be studied to allow the plants to develop properly from a productive point of view and to obtain high-quality products while at the same time obtaining energy for self-consumption, which is necessary to power the technological equipment of the greenhouse and other possible infrastructures of the farm.

The main focus of this study will be on crop yields, which is why it is planned to evaluate different photovoltaic roofs to see which is most suitable for agricultural production. The first steps of the research, which will take the whole of 2023, will focus precisely on finding the model that favors the optimum yield of tomatoes