Eclipse: A new photovoltaic panel designed for greenhouses and croplands

Abstract

Most agricultural land is perfectly suited for photovoltaic production, resulting in an increased competition between agriculture and photovoltaic plants for land. Therefore, it is highly important to find solutions that allow the compatibility of agriculture and electricity production. A specific PV panel called Eclipse has been developed and tested since 2005 in order to reach these goals. This panel is designed to increase light transmission to the crops in winter when irradiation is low, and to favor electricity production in summer when irradiation is high. Fresnel lenses are used to achieve this without any moving parts in the panels. The Eclipse panels were tested in two sites in Italy and Spain with successful results on various crops. A new version is now designed using bifacial PV panels and replacing the Fresnel lenses with metallic reflectors, achieving more effective and lower costs.