Kumar et al. (2025) An Innovative Agrivoltaic System for Desert Climates with Anti-Soiling, Irradiance Control, and Water Management

Identification

• Journal: EU PVSEC
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-11-20
• Authors: Kumar, Sagarika, Saw, Min Hsian, Shaaban, Ahmed, Jaworczak, Kamil, Kuzhagaliyeva, Nursulu, Parrilla, Carlos G., Tsombou, Francois M., Lamghari, Fouad, Pravettoni, Mauro
• DOI: 10.4229/eupvsec2025/4dv.1.12

Research Groups

Specific research groups, labs, or departments are not explicitly detailed in the provided text. The work is presented by a team of authors: Sagarika Kumar, Min Hsian Saw, Ahmed Shaaban, Kamil Jaworczak, Nursulu Kuzhagaliyeva, Carlos G. Parrilla, Francois M. Tsombou, Fouad Lamghari, and Mauro Pravettoni, under the GROOViD initiative.

Short Summary

This paper introduces GROOViD, an innovative agrivoltaic system designed for desert climates, integrating solar tracking, dual-use water systems for irrigation and module cleaning, and anti-soiling capabilities. Preliminary findings after six months demonstrate promising performance and reliability, along with benefits for photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), crop evapotranspiration, and anti-soiling.

Objective

• To develop and evaluate an innovative agrivoltaic system (GROOViD) that overcomes limitations of conventional systems in desert conditions by integrating anti-soiling, irradiance control, and water management, aiming to reduce water demand, enhance solar efficiency, and protect crops, thereby supporting sustainable agriculture and energy goals in arid regions.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Desert climates, arid regions (specifically referencing UAE goals). The system is a prototype designed for these environments.
• Temporal Scale: First 6 months of operation.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not explicitly mentioned, but involves quantitative analysis of experimental data regarding shading benefits to photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and crop evapotranspiration.
• Data sources: Preliminary performance and reliability findings derived from the first 6 months of operation of the GROOViD system.

Main Results

• The GROOViD system demonstrates promising preliminary performance and reliability after its initial 6 months of operation.
• Quantitative analysis shows benefits of the system's shading for photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and crop evapotranspiration.
• The combined cleaning-irrigation system effectively provides anti-soiling advantages.

Contributions

• Introduction of GROOViD, an innovative agrivoltaic system specifically engineered for desert climates, integrating advanced features like solar tracking, dual-use water systems for irrigation and module cleaning, and anti-soiling technology.
• Presents a novel approach to balance renewable energy generation and sustainable agriculture in water-scarce, high-heat arid regions.
• Offers a scalable model for desert agriculture, addressing critical challenges related to water scarcity, heat stress, and dust accumulation on PV modules.

Funding

No specific funding projects, programs, or reference codes are provided in the given text.

Citation

@article{Kumar2025Innovative,
  author = {Kumar, Sagarika and Saw, Min Hsian and Shaaban, Ahmed and Jaworczak, Kamil and Kuzhagaliyeva, Nursulu and Parrilla, Carlos G. and Tsombou, Francois M. and Lamghari, Fouad and Pravettoni, Mauro},
  title = {An Innovative Agrivoltaic System for Desert Climates with Anti-Soiling, Irradiance Control, and Water Management},
  journal = {EU PVSEC},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.4229/eupvsec2025/4dv.1.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.4229/eupvsec2025/4dv.1.12}
}