Image: Korea Maritime Institute, scientific reports, Creative Commons License CC BY 4.0
“The forest area, solar panel, and open space were calculated using the polygon measurement function provided by Google Earth Pro to quantitatively evaluate changes in mountain landscape before and after solar tree installation.” “The slope distance was measured using the built-in elevation path measurement function in Google Earth Pro to arrange the solar tree at 100 m intervals in the three-dimensional image,” they specified.
As a reference, they considered a 4.8 m × 4.1 m panel with a rated power of 1.2 kW developed by Korea-based module manufacturer Hanwha Q Cells. The academics used Google Earth 3D to reflect solar tree size and the distance between the trees. One kind of ginseng, mountain garlic, is being grown in the space at the bottom of solar power facilities.” “The solar panels installed on the 3-meter-high structure made a space for farming in the ground. “The solar power plant was constructed by cutting a mountainous ridge available in the highly elevated plateau into flat land,” they explained. Using Google Earth satellite imagery, the Korean group assessed the concept's operational potential by simulating solar tree installations in a mountainous area at 400 meters above sea level, where there is an operating agrivoltaic plant relying on solar trackers. Therefore, it is expected that solar trees can be installed at a cost that can compete with the current flat fixed panel in the not-too-distant future.” “As the demand for solar trees increases due to the development of new technology, more companies enter the market. “Compared to a general flat fixed panel, the solar tree has a higher structure and a stronger support base, increasing construction costs,” they explained. They defined the new concept as forest-photovoltaic and explained that it would both maintain carbon absorption activities under the solar trees and produce solar power on the upper part of forest land. Researchers from the Korea Maritime Institute have proposed the use of solar trees to build photovoltaic plants in mountainous forest areas in land-scarce South Korea. Clean Power Research: Solar data solutions to maximize PV project performance.Energy Storage North America Special 2018.The smarter E Europe 2019 special edition.Market overview: Microgrid control systems.Market overview: Large-scale storage systems.