Arizona Desert Solar Panel Study

At the university of arizona scientists are working on agrivoltaics projects just outside of biosphere 2 the living.

Arizona desert solar panel study. Ap in the cool shade of solar panels a lush plot of herbs and vegetables hints at one possible future for farming in the desert. The mojave desert straddling california and nevada has been called the saudi arabia of solar power. University of arizona researchers from the college of science and the james c. It s a clean energy developer s dream.

Most of today s photovoltaic systems use flat solar panels which while functional are relatively inefficient in. Vast open lands roughly equal in size to the entire state of new mexico with an endless bounty of heat from the sun. For this study the team defined the heat island effect as the difference in ambient air temperature around the solar power plant compared to that of the surrounding wild desert landscape. If a homeowner paid 18 000 for solar those panels don t necessarily add 18 000 to the resale.

Wyant college of optical sciences have been developing and refining a highly efficient photovoltaic system that captures more heat and energy from sunlight than current solar panel models available. Panels that are owned add some value to the resale. It deploys 173 500 heliostats each with two mirrors focusing solar energy on boilers located on three 459 ft 139 9 m tall solar power. It s a new way of combining renewable energy with agriculture in a hot arid landscape positioning elevated solar panels over an understory of plants.

The sonoran desert is a perfect place to see agrivoltaics in action. Professors and students both undergraduate and graduate measured everything from when plants germinated to the amount of carbon plants were sucking out of the atmosphere and the water they were releasing to. At the moment that future includes more basil. Ap in the cool shade of solar panels a lush plot of herbs and vegetables hints at one possible future for farming in the desert.

Using solar photovoltaic or pv panels and regional vegetables the team created the first agrivoltaics research site at biosphere 2. To find out how much solar panels cost in arizona you can enter your average aps or salt river project monthly power bill into the solar estimate solar panels square feet roof space calculator it will show you how many solar panels you need and how many square feet of roof space you will need for these panels.