Solar panels are often mounted onto greenhouse rooftops, this being a solution able to provide additional income to the farmers without occupying valuable agricultural land. Now an innovative solution has been proposed to improve both crops growth and efficiency of the modules.

The new photovoltaic module developed by the Spanish companies ULMA Agrícola and Tecnalia allows in fact electricity to be generated without the crops being affected by over-shading.

Thanks to a lens-based optical system, the solar rays can be exploited differently during the year by taking advantage of the annual oscillation in the height of the sun's trajectory. In winter the lenses direct the solar beams in the greenhouse so that the light inside barely falls. On the other hand, in summer the optical system diverts the solar radiation towards the photovoltaic cells, thus achieving a dual aim: to provide the greenhouse with cooling during the critical period of high temperatures and to increase electricity production through the photovoltaic system.

Tests on this technology are currently being performed on one ULMA Agrícola glass greenhouse at the Neiker Technology Centre in Derio, Spain. Positive results have been obtained so far, and between mid November and the end of March 2012 a winter test is due to be carried out from which similar results are expected to emerge. As regards electricity production, the first measures point to a 15% annual improvement over a standard photovoltaic system.
After the end of the field testing, a product ready to be placed on the marketed is expected by the second half of 2012.

Please find more information on ULMA Agrícola website.