Solyndra Showcases Greenhouse Project

Solyndra has announced that Italian firm STC Engineering Srl has completed a 598 kWp greenhouse installation at the Azienda Agricola Zanchin, a market gardener growing flowers and vegetables for the domestic market. Solyndra´s PV panels are integrated within the 7,700 m² surface area of a standard, off-the-shelf tunnel greenhouse. The Zanchin installation is eligible for the Italian Government's greenhouse feed-in tariff. With an annual yield of 889,137 KWh the installation generates enough electricity to power some 296 households.

“The brief was challenging,” says STC's Ettore Cognolato. “To run an efficient PV system you want to position your panels to maximize exposure to sunlight. However, the areas of shade created by conventional panels are detrimental to plant growth. I was commissioned to find a solution to the problem - and the solution I found was Solyndra.”

Sunlight provides energy necessary for both the PV installation and the photosynthetic requirements of the plants. Cognolato required an integrated model to qualify for the Italian Government's greenhouse feed-in tariff while ensuring that both the crops and panels receive the maximum amount of sunlight. With conventional panels, these two requirements are in competition with one another as panels positioned to receive maximum sunlight will shade the crops below.

Solyndra´s cylindrical modules utilize copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin film technology, which allow for the maximum, cost-effective capture of sunlight across their 360° PV surface. They are capable of capturing and converting direct, diffuse and reflected sunlight into electricity. Shadows cast by the cylindrical modules are long and thin, and tests carried out at CeRSAA (Centro Regionale di Sperimentazione e Assistenza Agricola) in Albenga, Italy have shown positive results. Dr. Giovanni Minuto, Director of CeRSAA, is convinced of the benefits to the agricultural sector: “Our tests have shown no fundamental difference between the growth of crops below conventional greenhouses and shading structures, and those adapted to PV installation using Solyndra´s modules. This technology helps the growers to remain competitive in the marketplace.” The design allows the panels to be placed in a variety of orientations with minimal impact on energy generation.  This enables a degree of flexibility across agricultural installations that other panels cannot provide.   

Clemens Jargon, President of EMEA Solyndra, is bullish about the potential impact for the agricultural sector, “Finding a solution to the problems associated with installing conventional PV panels on agricultural structures enables growers to generate an additional income stream while supporting their core businesses. Simultaneously they are reducing their energy costs and their carbon footprint.”