The Potential of Agri-Solar Thermal Systems for Dual Land use Combining Agriculture and Large-Scale Solar Heat Generation

Abstract

In view of the restricted availability of land for large-scale solar thermal systems in district heating, the creation of synergies in combining agricultural and energetic land use is of particular interest. Hence, the paper provides an overview and a qualitative evaluation of the conceptual options for Agri-Solar Thermal systems. Besides that, it outlines the requirements, boundary conditions and further development needs for these systems. The investigation reveals that vertical Agri-Solar Thermal with insulating glass flat-plate collectors is a promising concept due to the collectors' bifaciality and low adaptation efforts. Consequently, its solar yield potential was analysed in more detail, applying an analytical modelling approach. It was found that a vertical bifacial Agri-Solar Thermal system is capable to deliver a similar specific solar collector yield (470 kWh/(m²a)) compared to that of a conventional ground-mounted solar thermal system (494 kWh/(m²a)) for a Central European reference location (Würzburg, Germany), while reducing land use for collector mounting to less than one third (30.7 %). Hence, a vertical bifacial Agri-ST system could provide around three times more heat per square metre of occupied land than a conventional setup (1,023 kWh/(m²a) vs. 330 kWh/(m²a)), highlighting the concept’s potential to enhance land use efficiency.