Environmental and economic impacts of solar-powered integrated greenhouses
Corresponding Author
Joseph A. Hollingsworth
Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
Correspondence
Joseph A. Hollingsworth, 2501 Stinson Dr, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA.
Email: jahollin@ncsu.edu
Search for more papers by this authorEshwar Ravishankar
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
Search for more papers by this authorBrendan O'Connor
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
Search for more papers by this authorJeremiah X. Johnson
Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
Search for more papers by this authorJoseph F. DeCarolis
Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Joseph A. Hollingsworth
Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
Correspondence
Joseph A. Hollingsworth, 2501 Stinson Dr, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA.
Email: jahollin@ncsu.edu
Search for more papers by this authorEshwar Ravishankar
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
Search for more papers by this authorBrendan O'Connor
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
Search for more papers by this authorJeremiah X. Johnson
Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
Search for more papers by this authorJoseph F. DeCarolis
Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
Search for more papers by this authorFunding information:
The author would like to acknowledge the National Science Foundation Grant, INFEWS 1639429, for supporting this research.
Editor Managing Review: Thomas Seager
Abstract
Greenhouse vegetable production plays a vital role in providing year-round fresh vegetables to global markets, achieving higher yields, and using less water than open-field systems, but at the expense of increased energy demand. This study examines the life cycle environmental and economic impacts of integrating semitransparent organic photovoltaics (OPVs) into greenhouse designs. We employ life cycle assessment to analyze six environmental impacts associated with producing greenhouse-grown tomatoes in a Solar PoweRed INtegrated Greenhouse (SPRING) compared to conventional greenhouses with and without an adjacent solar photovoltaic array, across three distinct locations. The SPRING design produces significant reductions in environmental impacts, particularly in regions with high solar insolation and electricity-intensive energy demands. For example, in Arizona, global warming potential values for a conventional, adjacent PV and SPRING greenhouse are found to be 3.71, 2.38, and 2.36 kg CO2 eq/kg tomato, respectively. Compared to a conventional greenhouse, the SPRING design may increase life cycle environmental burdens in colder regions because the shading effect of OPV increases heating demands. Our analysis shows that SPRING designs must maintain crop yields at levels similar to conventional greenhouses in order to be economically competitive. Assuming consistent crop yields, uncertainty analysis shows average net present cost of production across Arizona to be $3.43, $3.38, and $3.64 per kg of tomato for the conventional, adjacent PV and SPRING system, respectively.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Supporting Information
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jiec12934-sup-0001-SuppMat1.pdf652.6 KB | Supporting Information S1: This supporting information S1 provides six tables and six figures that are relevant to our manuscript. We provide this supporting information to allow interested readers to better understand certain data used for figures, as well as more detailed figures that are used within the text of our article. |
jiec12934-sup-0002-SuppMat2.xlsx1.4 MB | Supporting Information S2: This supporting information S2 provides the datasets used to produce several figures in the main text (figures 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6). |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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