<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/solar-farms-reduce-water-stress-improve-soils-and-plant-growth-new-study-finds/>
"In what could be a welcome discovery for Australia, new research has found
that the presence of solar panels in Colorado’s greenlands may alleviate water
stress, improve soil moisture levels, and increase plant growth by around 20
per cent or more.
The research conducted by teams from Colorado State University and Cornell
University, and published in the journal
Environmental Research Letters, is
based on four years of data from an agrivoltaic farm in Longmont, Colorado.
The four-year period analysed contained both above- average and below-average
precipitation, providing the researchers with a healthy dataset.
By analysing multiple sites within and outside of the single-axis tracking
solar PV array, the researchers found that plants beneath and around the solar
systems ended up benefitting from partial shading and additional water that
collected on the solar panels.
Specifically, aboveground net primary production (ANPP) was increased by
approximately 20 per cent in the array when compared to adjacent open
grassland, while ANPP in some array locations such as near the solar panel
edges increased by approximately 90 per cent.
This helped plants survive during the dry and harsh summer months, and even
during average and wetter years, a more muted ANPP was discernible, with 28 and
12 per cent increased productivity respectively when compared to the control
sites outside of the solar farm.
The results of the research demonstrate the potential of solar land use
synergies in grasslands that are capable of supporting both necessary renewable
power generation as well as ecosystem stability."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
