Investigation of microclimatology under solar panel

Abstract:

Photo voltaic solar energy is a clean source of energy with much lower carbon footprint than other sources. However, the vast land requirements of solar energy arrays may make installation impractical when available land is better suited for other purposes, like livestock grazing lands. The goal of this research was to investigate changes to the environmental physics, grass production, and grass species diversification under solar panels in an active pasture. To this end, different land characteristics were studied observationally including the length of the growing season, the greenness, the production per acre (especially in winter-limited environments), and the environmental physical processes (soil water movement and air movement). The observation setup involved two microclimatological stations that were installed in the Rabbit Hills solar array, OSU campus Oregon; one in and open area and the other in the solar array. The soil moisture was quantified using a complimentary system of electronic sensors and neutron probe readings. The data analysis was conducted to obtain the possible coupling between local atmospheric temperature, wind speed, humidity, and soil moisture. Soil moisture beneath the solar array was significantly higher. The solar array was found to reduce the local wind speed, and increase the local humidity. This resulted in a reduced evaporation resulting and a longer period of grass growth through the season.