Comparison of Yield and Yield Components of Several Crops Grown under Agro-Photovoltaic System in Korea

Abstract

Renewable energy generation has attracted growing interest globally. The agro-photovoltaic (APV) system is a new alternative to conventional photovoltaic power plants, which can simultaneously generate renewable energy and increase agricultural productivity by the use of solar panels on the same farmland. The optimization of crop yields and assessment of their environmental sensitivity under the solar panels have not yet been evaluated with various crop species. This study aimed to evaluate the agronomic performances and crop yields under the APV system and the open field with crop species such as rice, onion, garlic, rye, soybean, adzuki bean, monocropping corn, and mixed planting of corn with soybean in South Korea. The results indicated that there was statistically no negative impact of the APV system on the forage yield of rye and corn over two years, suggesting that forage crops under the APV system were suitable to producing forage yield for livestock. In addition, the measured forage quality of rye was not significantly different between the open field and the APV system. However, rice yield was statistically reduced under the APV system. The yield of legume crops and vegetables in this study did not show consistent statistical results in two years. For further study, crop yield trials will still be required for rice, soybean, adzuki bean, onion, and garlic for multiple years under the APV system.