Post by account_disabled on Feb 25, 2024 2:11:03 GMT -5
Global demand for food is expected to grow substantially by 2050. Humanity's growing appetite for food and energy is imposing unprecedented yield targets on our lands.
Now, a team of researchers at the University of California, Davis, is investigating how to better harness the sun and its optimal light spectrum to make agrivoltaic systems more efficient in arid agricultural regions like California. The study found that the red part of the light spectrum is most efficient for growing plants, while the blue part of the spectrum is best used for solar production.
For their study, the researchers developed a model of photosynthesis and transpiration to take into account different light spectrums. The model reproduced the response of various lights, including lettuce, basil and strawberry, to different light spectrums under controlled laboratory conditions. A sensitivity analysis suggested that the blue part of the spectrum is best filtered for producing solar energy, while the red spectrum can be optimized for growing food .
The team tested their model on tomato plants at UC Davis agricultural research fields in collaboration with UC Davis assistant professor Andre Daccache of the Department of Biological and Agricultural C Level Executive List Engineering. In an era of declining viable land, understanding how plants respond to different light spectrums is a key step in designing systems that balance sustainable land management with water use and food production, the study noted.
"We can't feed 2 billion more people in 30 years by being a little more efficient in using water and continuing as we do," said corresponding author Majdi Abou Najm. “We need something transformative, not incremental. If we treat the sun as a resource, we can work in the shade and generate electricity while growing crops below. Kilowatt-hours become a secondary crop that you can harvest.”
The analysis of the most important environmental and cultivation variables (irradiation, air temperature, humidity and CO2 concentration) shows that the plant response to different light treatments is sensitive to environmental conditions and is species-specific. Therefore, more research is needed to evaluate which crops and climates are best suited to optimize the proposed food-water-energy nexus.
The results could help guide global interest in agrivoltaics and identify potential applications for such systems.
Now, a team of researchers at the University of California, Davis, is investigating how to better harness the sun and its optimal light spectrum to make agrivoltaic systems more efficient in arid agricultural regions like California. The study found that the red part of the light spectrum is most efficient for growing plants, while the blue part of the spectrum is best used for solar production.
For their study, the researchers developed a model of photosynthesis and transpiration to take into account different light spectrums. The model reproduced the response of various lights, including lettuce, basil and strawberry, to different light spectrums under controlled laboratory conditions. A sensitivity analysis suggested that the blue part of the spectrum is best filtered for producing solar energy, while the red spectrum can be optimized for growing food .
The team tested their model on tomato plants at UC Davis agricultural research fields in collaboration with UC Davis assistant professor Andre Daccache of the Department of Biological and Agricultural C Level Executive List Engineering. In an era of declining viable land, understanding how plants respond to different light spectrums is a key step in designing systems that balance sustainable land management with water use and food production, the study noted.
"We can't feed 2 billion more people in 30 years by being a little more efficient in using water and continuing as we do," said corresponding author Majdi Abou Najm. “We need something transformative, not incremental. If we treat the sun as a resource, we can work in the shade and generate electricity while growing crops below. Kilowatt-hours become a secondary crop that you can harvest.”
The analysis of the most important environmental and cultivation variables (irradiation, air temperature, humidity and CO2 concentration) shows that the plant response to different light treatments is sensitive to environmental conditions and is species-specific. Therefore, more research is needed to evaluate which crops and climates are best suited to optimize the proposed food-water-energy nexus.
The results could help guide global interest in agrivoltaics and identify potential applications for such systems.