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A crop-agnostic baseline for agrivoltaics: Field-Proven characterization of Micro-CPVs with diffuse light transmission

Author

Listed:
  • Younes, Kareem
  • Bin Saad, Majed
  • Apostoleris, Harry
  • Farrah, Tareq
  • Nardin, Gaël
  • Ackermann, Mathieu
  • Bory, Noé
  • Viegas, Jaime
  • Chiesa, Matteo

Abstract

Traditional concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) systems cannot capture diffuse light and require bulky sun-tracking. In this work, we characterize a commercially oriented, semi-transmissive, micro-CPV with integrated tracking optically, thermally, and electrically under the sand-laden, hot desert climate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates to evaluate its potential for agrivoltaics and ability to contribute towards the interplay of the food-energy nexus. When the module operates in an “Electricity” mode (E-mode) by focusing direct light on micro-cells, the peak electrical efficiency was 26.9 % while 14–26 % of the incoming irradiance was uniformly transmitted as diffuse light underneath. When climate conditions are not favourable for electric generation, switching to a “Maximum Light Transmission” mode (MLT-mode) yielded a transmittance up to 71.61 %, providing a daily illuminance (daylighting applications) of 1.84 × 109 lumens m−2 day−1 and Daily Light Integral (DLI) dose of 29.69 molPAR m−2 day−1, suitable for moderate-to-high light crops. On the thermal front, the air temperature beneath the panel surpasses the ambient temperature by a range of 10–15 °C, and the solar cell temperatures ran ∼ 27 °C above ambient at midday. Based on the data and observations of a 1-year crop-agnostic module characterization, we identify design improvement and manufacturing errors, mostly in the field of optics and tracking-integration.

Suggested Citation

  • Younes, Kareem & Bin Saad, Majed & Apostoleris, Harry & Farrah, Tareq & Nardin, Gaël & Ackermann, Mathieu & Bory, Noé & Viegas, Jaime & Chiesa, Matteo, 2026. "A crop-agnostic baseline for agrivoltaics: Field-Proven characterization of Micro-CPVs with diffuse light transmission," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(PH).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:256:y:2026:i:ph:s0960148125022426
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2025.124578
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