Nothing Special   »   [go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v165y2016icp383-392.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Colocation opportunities for large solar infrastructures and agriculture in drylands

Author

Listed:
  • Ravi, Sujith
  • Macknick, Jordan
  • Lobell, David
  • Field, Christopher
  • Ganesan, Karthik
  • Jain, Rishabh
  • Elchinger, Michael
  • Stoltenberg, Blaise
Abstract
Solar energy installations in arid and semi-arid regions are rapidly increasing due to technological advances and policy support. Although solar energy provides several benefits such as reduction of greenhouse gases, reclamation of degraded land, and improved quality of life in developing countries, the deployment of large-scale renewable energy infrastructure may negatively impact land and water resources. Meeting the ever-expanding energy demand with limited land and water resources in the context of increasing demand for alternative uses such as agricultural and domestic consumption is a major challenge. The goal of this study was to explore opportunities to colocate solar infrastructures and agricultural crops to maximize the efficiency of land and water use. We investigated the energy inputs/outputs, water use, greenhouse gas emissions, and economics of solar installations in northwestern India in comparison to aloe vera cultivation, another widely promoted and economically important land use in these systems. The life cycle analyses show that the colocated systems are economically viable in some rural areas and may provide opportunities for rural electrification and stimulate economic growth. The water inputs for cleaning solar panels are similar to amounts required for annual aloe productivity, suggesting the possibility of integrating the two systems to maximize land and water use efficiency. A life cycle analysis of a hypothetical colocation indicated higher returns per m3 of water used than either system alone. The northwestern region of India has experienced high population growth in the past decade, creating additional demand for land and water resources. In these water-limited areas, coupled solar infrastructure and agriculture could be established in marginal lands with low water use, thus minimizing the socioeconomic and environmental issues resulting from cultivation of economically important non-food crops (e.g., aloe) in prime agricultural lands.

Suggested Citation

  • Ravi, Sujith & Macknick, Jordan & Lobell, David & Field, Christopher & Ganesan, Karthik & Jain, Rishabh & Elchinger, Michael & Stoltenberg, Blaise, 2016. "Colocation opportunities for large solar infrastructures and agriculture in drylands," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 383-392.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:165:y:2016:i:c:p:383-392
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.12.078
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261915016517
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.12.078?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pandey, Shreemat & Singh, Vijai Shanker & Gangwar, Naresh Pal & Vijayvergia, M.M. & Prakash, Chandra & Pandey, Deep Narayan, 2012. "Determinants of success for promoting solar energy in Rajasthan, India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 3593-3598.
    2. Ramachandra, T.V. & Jain, Rishabh & Krishnadas, Gautham, 2011. "Hotspots of solar potential in India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 3178-3186, August.
    3. Kapoor, Karan & Pandey, Krishan K. & Jain, A.K. & Nandan, Ashish, 2014. "Evolution of solar energy in India: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 475-487.
    4. Mekhilef, S. & Faramarzi, S.Z. & Saidur, R. & Salam, Zainal, 2013. "The application of solar technologies for sustainable development of agricultural sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 583-594.
    5. Bazilian, Morgan & Rogner, Holger & Howells, Mark & Hermann, Sebastian & Arent, Douglas & Gielen, Dolf & Steduto, Pasquale & Mueller, Alexander & Komor, Paul & Tol, Richard S.J. & Yumkella, Kandeh K., 2011. "Considering the energy, water and food nexus: Towards an integrated modelling approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 7896-7906.
    6. Hernandez, R.R. & Easter, S.B. & Murphy-Mariscal, M.L. & Maestre, F.T. & Tavassoli, M. & Allen, E.B. & Barrows, C.W. & Belnap, J. & Ochoa-Hueso, R. & Ravi, S. & Allen, M.F., 2014. "Environmental impacts of utility-scale solar energy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 766-779.
    7. Tsoutsos, Theocharis & Frantzeskaki, Niki & Gekas, Vassilis, 2005. "Environmental impacts from the solar energy technologies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 289-296, February.
    8. Sujith Ravi, 2015. "Partner crop plants with solar facilities," Nature, Nature, vol. 524(7564), pages 161-161, August.
    9. Global Energy Assessment Writing Team,, 2012. "Global Energy Assessment," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107005198, January.
    10. El Bassam, N., 1998. "C3 and C4 plant species as energy sources and their potential impact on environment and climate," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 205-210.
    11. Mani, Monto & Pillai, Rohit, 2010. "Impact of dust on solar photovoltaic (PV) performance: Research status, challenges and recommendations," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(9), pages 3124-3131, December.
    12. Panwar, N.L. & Kaushik, S.C. & Kothari, Surendra, 2011. "Role of renewable energy sources in environmental protection: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 1513-1524, April.
    13. Global Energy Assessment Writing Team,, 2012. "Global Energy Assessment," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521182935, January.
    14. Schuman, Sara & Lin, Alvin, 2012. "China's Renewable Energy Law and its impact on renewable power in China: Progress, challenges and recommendations for improving implementation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 89-109.
    15. Raugei, Marco & Bargigli, Silvia & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2007. "Life cycle assessment and energy pay-back time of advanced photovoltaic modules: CdTe and CIS compared to poly-Si," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(8), pages 1310-1318.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gopal, C. & Mohanraj, M. & Chandramohan, P. & Chandrasekar, P., 2013. "Renewable energy source water pumping systems—A literature review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 351-370.
    2. Sindhu, Sonal & Nehra, Vijay & Luthra, Sunil, 2017. "Solar energy deployment for sustainable future of India: Hybrid SWOC-AHP analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 1138-1151.
    3. Mahtta, Richa & Joshi, P.K. & Jindal, Alok Kumar, 2014. "Solar power potential mapping in India using remote sensing inputs and environmental parameters," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 255-262.
    4. Sofia Dahlgren & Jonas Ammenberg, 2021. "Sustainability Assessment of Public Transport, Part II—Applying a Multi-Criteria Assessment Method to Compare Different Bus Technologies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-30, January.
    5. Li, Xue & Lin, Cong & Wang, Yang & Zhao, Lingying & Duan, Na & Wu, Xudong, 2015. "Analysis of rural household energy consumption and renewable energy systems in Zhangziying town of Beijing," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 318(C), pages 184-193.
    6. Mercure, J.-F. & Paim, M.A. & Bocquillon, P. & Lindner, S. & Salas, P. & Martinelli, P. & Berchin, I.I. & de Andrade Guerra, J.B.S.O & Derani, C. & de Albuquerque Junior, C.L. & Ribeiro, J.M.P. & Knob, 2019. "System complexity and policy integration challenges: The Brazilian Energy- Water-Food Nexus," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 230-243.
    7. Punia Sindhu, Sonal & Nehra, Vijay & Luthra, Sunil, 2016. "Recognition and prioritization of challenges in growth of solar energy using analytical hierarchy process: Indian outlook," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 332-348.
    8. Luthra, Sunil & Govindan, Kannan & Kharb, Ravinder K. & Mangla, Sachin Kumar, 2016. "Evaluating the enablers in solar power developments in the current scenario using fuzzy DEMATEL: An Indian perspective," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 379-397.
    9. Sindhu, Sonal & Nehra, Vijay & Luthra, Sunil, 2016. "Identification and analysis of barriers in implementation of solar energy in Indian rural sector using integrated ISM and fuzzy MICMAC approach," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 70-88.
    10. Sindhu, Sonal & Nehra, Vijay & Luthra, Sunil, 2017. "Investigation of feasibility study of solar farms deployment using hybrid AHP-TOPSIS analysis: Case study of India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 496-511.
    11. Mostafaeipour, Ali & Alvandimanesh, Marzieh & Najafi, Fatemeh & Issakhov, Alibek, 2021. "Identifying challenges and barriers for development of solar energy by using fuzzy best-worst method: A case study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    12. Aman, M.M. & Solangi, K.H. & Hossain, M.S. & Badarudin, A. & Jasmon, G.B. & Mokhlis, H. & Bakar, A.H.A. & Kazi, S.N, 2015. "A review of Safety, Health and Environmental (SHE) issues of solar energy system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1190-1204.
    13. Abubakar Mas’ud, Abdullahi & Wirba, Asan Vernyuy & Muhammad-Sukki, Firdaus & Albarracín, Ricardo & Abu-Bakar, Siti Hawa & Munir, Abu Bakar & Bani, Nurul Aini, 2016. "A review on the recent progress made on solar photovoltaic in selected countries of sub-Saharan Africa," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 441-452.
    14. Indora, Sunil & Kandpal, Tara C., 2018. "Institutional cooking with solar energy: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 131-154.
    15. Massa, Isabella, 2015. "Technological change in developing countries: Trade-offs between economic, social, and environmental sustainability," MERIT Working Papers 2015-051, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    16. Al-Maamary, Hilal M.S. & Kazem, Hussein A. & Chaichan, Miqdam T., 2017. "The impact of oil price fluctuations on common renewable energies in GCC countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 989-1007.
    17. Jamil, Basharat & Akhtar, Naiem, 2017. "Estimation of diffuse solar radiation in humid-subtropical climatic region of India: Comparison of diffuse fraction and diffusion coefficient models," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 149-164.
    18. Bukhary, Saria & Ahmad, Sajjad & Batista, Jacimaria, 2018. "Analyzing land and water requirements for solar deployment in the Southwestern United States," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 3288-3305.
    19. Pandey, Shreemat & Singh, Vijai Shanker & Gangwar, Naresh Pal & Vijayvergia, M.M. & Prakash, Chandra & Pandey, Deep Narayan, 2012. "Determinants of success for promoting solar energy in Rajasthan, India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 3593-3598.
    20. Bauer, Nico & Hilaire, Jérôme & Brecha, Robert J. & Edmonds, Jae & Jiang, Kejun & Kriegler, Elmar & Rogner, Hans-Holger & Sferra, Fabio, 2016. "Assessing global fossil fuel availability in a scenario framework," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 580-592.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:165:y:2016:i:c:p:383-392. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.