The potential of agrivoltaic system in Malaysia: assessment on microclimate, soil properties and selected crop responses / Noorfarah Faizza Mohd Noor

Solar photovoltaic (PV) has grown a lot over the years, which has led to land competition between using PV to make energy and growing food to meet rising demand. As a result, agrivoltaic systems have become a promising way to grow crops and produce electricity at the same time. This research studied the microclimate properties and soil properties effects in the solar park at Pahang and then examined the feasibility of an agrivoltaic system by evaluating the crop responses at Melaka. We measured photosynthesis active radiation (PAR), light intensity (LI), relative humidity (RH), air temperature (AT), and wind speed (WS) in outskirt panels, under panels and row between panels at three distinct locations: the highest point area, moderately inclined area, and the lowest point area. We also collected soil samples for chemical and physical properties analyses. We found that PAR, LI, and WS remained low beneath the panels at all locations. Interestingly, no significant difference in AT was detected at different treatments. The accumulation of organic matter, moisture content, and soil bulk densities showed similarities between different treatments irrespective of locations. Soil infertility is reflected by low pH, CEC, exchangeable bases, and available phosphorus. Furthermore, almost no carbon, sulphur, or nitrogen was found in the results. On the other hand, we observed the growth responses of Okra, eggplant, green spinach, Brazilian spinach, water spinach, Chinese kale, Chinese cabbage, and pennywort under different shading zones like those attributed from a solar panel to determine the growth responses of selected crops. As expected, the light limitation affects the growth of the crops. However, we inferred that okra, eggplant, Brazilian spinach, and pennywort can be implemented in the agrivoltaic system as it was found that the crops planted under the area of the highest elevated panel were able to meet the market’s standards. Besides, the other four species of leafy vegetables are more suitable to be grown in the row area. These results suggest that the row area can be the best place to cultivate green leafy vegetables. Therefore, although our solar farm was built close to the ground, it is possible to produce vegetables, and this study may pave the way for the simultaneous generation of food and energy in Malaysia and other Asian countries.