How Solar Panels Are Changing Agriculture - Agrivoltaics Revisited
发布时间 2023-03-28 12:16:46 来源
A portion of today's video is brought to you by SPAM. As our needs for energy and food continue to rise, we're revisiting the sunny topic of agrival ticks, or using land to grow food and host solar panels at the same time.
今天的视频节选由“SPAM”带给您。随着我们对能源和食品需求的不断增长，我们将重新审视“agrival ticks”这个阳光话题，即在同一块土地上种植粮食，同时兼容太阳能电池板。
Experiments in this hot space have had some really promising results over the last year, like using new technology to double food production and implementing AI systems to better harvest sunlight. But as getting twice the usage out of the acreage really a win-win, it takes a certain type of veggie to really thrive in these environments, and the upfront costs for this technology can be crippling.
在这个炙热的领域进行的实验在过去一年中取得了一些非常有前途的结果，比如利用新技术使食品产量翻番，并实施人工智能系统更好地收获阳光。但是，在同样的土地上获得两倍的使用量真的是双赢吗？这需要某种类型的蔬菜才能真正在这种环境中茁壮成长，并且这项技术的前期成本可能会让人望而却步。
Can tech and AI really enter the food production industry and reshape it, like they've done with so many others? I'm Matt Farrell. Welcome to Undecided.
科技和人工智能真的能像他们在许多其他领域一样，进入食品生产行业并改变它吗？我是马特·法雷尔。欢迎来到未决。
From growing cannabis faster with LSC panels to creating autonomous solar panel cars that can navigate the intricacies of farmland, new developments in agrival ticks are making waves and even expanding the definition of the field. We're about to go on a deep dive about the latest advancements, but if you're looking for a broader explanation of the topic, you might want to check out my previous video with agrival ticks, which I'll link in the description.
从使用LSC面板加速大麻生长到创建能够导航农田复杂性的自主太阳能面板汽车，农业技术中的新发展正在掀起浪潮，甚至扩大了这个领域的定义。我们即将深入探讨最新的进展，但如果你想更广泛地了解这个主题，你可能需要查看我以前关于农业技术的视频，我会在描述中提供链接。
But for now, let's recap why this field is booming. It's predicted by the Department of Energy that by 2050, ground-based solar technologies will require about 10 million acres of land to produce the power that we need to reach our decarbonization goals. That's the equivalent to about half a percent of the total space across the contiguous United States.
现在先让我们回顾一下为什么这个领域正在蓬勃发展。根据能源部的预测，到2050年，地面太阳能技术将需要约1000万英亩的土地来产生我们需要达到减碳目标所需的能量。这相当于连续的美国总空间的大约百分之一半。
And despite that huge number, researchers aren't too worried about setting a side land with optimal conditions, and one big reason behind that is agrival ticks, or getting dual use out of the land for both food and energy production. While using open space just for solar farms could run into opposition because it overlaps with prime sites for agricultural work, a study run by Michigan Technological University in 2021 found that over 80% of respondents would be more likely to support solar development in their community if it combined production of both energy and agriculture.
尽管已经有很多土地被用于太阳能农场，但研究人员并不太担心设置具有最佳条件的土地，其中一个重要原因是农业利用。利用开放空间仅用于太阳能农场可能会遇到反对意见，因为它与农业工作的主要场地重叠。但密歇根理工大学在2021年开展的一项研究发现，超过80%的受访者会更愿意支持社区的太阳能开发，如果它同时结合了能源和农业生产。
In fact, a June of last year China banned use of farmlands exclusively for energy production, but it allows it in special cases where it's being used for food production too, or agrival ticks. This lands us on why agrival ticks works and the mutual benefits that it provides. While plants need sunlight to grow, after a point, more light leads to diminishing returns. It can dry them out instead of contributing to photosynthesis. Solar panels placed above these crops can both absorb the extra light that would otherwise be wasted throughout the day and provide some shade for the crops to drop temperatures and offer a break from the heat. All this translates into less water usage for farmers, saving the money while also doubling the use of their land.
事实上，去年六月份，中国禁止将农田专门用于能源生产，但在特殊情况下，如同时用于食品生产或农业用途时，可以开放使用。这导致我们思考农业光伏的工作原理以及提供的共同利益。植物需要阳光来生长，但在一定程度后，过多的光会导致收益递减。它们会干燥而不是促进光合作用。在这些作物上方放置太阳能电池板可以吸收多余的光，在整个白天提供一些遮阴作用，使作物的温度降低，为作物提供一定的防暑休息。所有这些都可以减少农民的用水量，省钱的同时也可以将其土地的利用效率翻倍。
It can also increase the yield for certain types of plants like tomatoes and help farmers diversify their income with a new type of cash crop, energy production. But this is where it gets really interesting. One of them were to use AI to track weather patterns, measure an optimized crop growth, and even use the panels to protect these crops from dangerous weather. How far can we push this?
它还可以增加某些作物的产量，比如番茄，并帮助农民通过新型现金作物——能源生产，实现收入多元化。但这正是事情变得有趣的地方。如果有人利用人工智能来跟踪天气模式、测量优化的作物生长，甚至利用太阳能板来保护这些作物免受危险天气的侵袭，我们可以将其推向何种程度呢？
Well first, let's take a look at the recent developments in the field. Government-sponsored policies like the one in China that I mentioned earlier have helped to push agrival-take projects in countries across the world. From rewarding state-sponsored contracts in France for energy producers, new laws like the Renewable Energy Act in Germany, and publishing guidelines for the design, construction, and operation of agrival-take plants in Italy.
首先，让我们来看看该领域最近的发展。像我之前提到过的中国政府资助政策，已经帮助促进了全球各国的农业光伏项目。从法国为能源生产商提供的国家资助合同奖励，到德国的可再生能源法律，以及意大利发布的有关农业光伏电站设计、建设和运营的指南。
There's also been some major advancements for promising tech in the field. While luminescent solar concentrators or LSC panels have been around and evolving for decades, they recently made some pretty big waves in agrival-tax. LSC panels are semi-transparent, meaning sunlight passes right through them. While that light is traveling through the panel, some of it is captured and concentrated along the edges, where a photovoltaic cell converts into electricity. You can probably see where I'm going with this. Using LSC panels and crop growth holds some promise for some electrifying, and mostly clear winds.
在该领域中，有一些有前途的技术也取得了一些重大进展。虽然荧光太阳能聚光器或LSC面板已经存在并在不断演变数十年，但它们最近在农业税方面掀起了轩然大波。LSC面板是半透明的，这意味着阳光可以穿过它们。当光线穿过面板时，其中的一些被捕获并集中在边缘处，光伏电池将其转化为电能。你可能已经看到了我想表达的。使用LSC面板和作物生长有一些希望产生令人兴奋和大多数是透明的风。
But before we get to that, there's another technology that can help you level up the solar and battery setup on your house, and that's today's sponsor, Span. I'm building a new super-energy-efficient home with solar panels and home energy storage. And one of the things that's going to be key to my new setup is something that I've been living with in my current home for almost a year and a half now, and that's a Span Smart Panel.
但在我们进入那个话题之前，有另一项技术可以帮助你提升房屋太阳能和电池的设置，而今天的赞助商是Span。我正在建造一座超级高效能的太阳能屋，并带有家庭能源存储。而我新设置的关键因素之一，是我在现有住所使用了一年半的Span智能面板。
I absolutely love this thing. It really fills in a huge missing piece of the home energy puzzle. If you have solar and home battery, like a Tesla Powerwall, Span can prioritize which circuits get shut off in a blackout to maximize your battery storage. You don't have to have a separate permanently wired, critical loads panel. You can adjust things on the fly right from the app. And Span has just announced it will integrate with Enphase starting in late April. You can pair the Enphase IQ battery with Span to level up your home battery backup experience. If you're interested in getting a Span Smart Panel or their new Span Drive EV charger for your house, check out the link in the description. Thanks to Span and to all of you for supporting the channel.
我非常喜欢这个东西。它真正填补了家庭能源拼图中的巨大缺口。如果你有太阳能和家庭电池，比如特斯拉 Powerwall，Span 可以优先关掉哪些电路来最大化你的电池储存，在停电时使用。你不需要一个单独的永久有线的关键负载面板。你可以直接从应用程序调整设置。Span 刚刚宣布，从四月底开始将与 Enphase 集成。你可以将 Enphase IQ 电池与 Span 配对，提升你的家庭备用电池体验。如果你对在家里安装 Span 智能面板或他们的新的 Span Drive 电动汽车充电器感兴趣，可以查看描述中的链接。感谢 Span 和所有支持本频道的人。
Now back to how LSE panels are changing the future of farming. The new concept of Agra LSE or using LSE panels specifically with greenhouse architecture was presented in the solar energy journal just in October. The idea of Agra LSE is to allow visible light that crops use for photosynthesis to pass through the panel, while capturing wavelengths of light that are unusable for plants like infrared and ultraviolet and converting them into electricity or even transforming them to aid with crop growth. Some companies are even off to the races exploring this already.
现在回到LSE面板如何改变农业未来的问题。Agra LSE的新概念是在太阳能期刊上于去年10月份提出的，它特别运用LSE面板与温室结构相结合。Agra LSE的想法是允许作物用于光合作用的可见光穿过面板，同时捕获对植物无用的红外线和紫外线的波长，并将它们转化为电能，甚至转化为促进农作物生长的物质。一些公司已经开始探索这个领域。
UBGRO is a transparent film that implements a method of LSEs to increase yield for everything from strawberries to cannabis by up to 20%. They recently teamed up the solar module company Helian to add UBGRO film to solar panels. Simultaneously generating electricity from low light while aiming to increase plant yield. This is crossed at works because we'll need more food for the munchies. And our growing population of course.
UBGRO是一种透明的膜，采用LSE方法，可将草莓、大麻等各种作物的产量提高达20%。他们最近与太阳能模块公司Helian合作，将UBGRO膜添加到太阳能电池板上。同时在低光照下产生电力，旨在增加植物产量。这是很重要的，因为我们需要更多的食物来满足人们的消费需求。当然，这也与人口增长有关。
So if there's government backing and new advanced technologies starting to enter the scene, what's the hold up? Well probably to the surprise of nobody. The biggest barrier to Agra Voltaic Farms is cost. Money makes the world go round. You've probably seen it yourself if you're considering installing solar panels in your home. While the cost of solar alone can be expensive, Agra Voltaic projects come with an even hotter price tag. Most Agra Voltaic farms that use motorized solar trackers need tracking software that involves complex AI systems. Not emotionally complex like Bings AI chatbot telling a New York Times reporter to leave his wife. But sophisticated systems that utilize custom made algorithms to optimize UV and crop conditions.
所以，如果政府支持并开始引入新的先进技术，为什么还没有进展呢？很可能毫不意外的是，农业太阳能农场最大的障碍是成本。金钱使世界运转。如果您考虑在家中安装太阳能电池板，您可能已经看到了这一点。虽然太阳能的成本可能很高，但农业太阳能项目的价格更高。大多数使用机动太阳能跟踪器的农业太阳能农场需要跟踪软件，涉及复杂的人工智能系统。它们不像必应AI聊天机器人那样情绪复杂，告诉纽约时报记者离开他的妻子。但这些复杂的系统利用定制的算法来优化紫外线和农作物条件。
And this of course adds to the price tag of the setup. Now meanwhile project developers have to jump through hoops to get the farm started. From working with the state to determine a price for any electricity sold. They're creating custom development plans and working through legal issues in a developing field. It takes a lot of time, negotiations, and permitting to get things off the ground. Of course this all translates into costs here too. Now finally if the panels are being horizontally mounted they need to be above a certain height in order to allow farm equipment to pass underneath them as they harvest crops. This leads to more material needs and the mounting structures for these panels are not yet mass produced. So they're harder to find and more expensive to create at least at the moment.
当然，它必然会增加该设备的价格。与此同时，项目开发者必须跨越许多障碍才能启动农场。他们需要与政府合作，确定销售电力的价格。他们正在创建定制的发展计划，并通过开发中领域的法律问题。这需要大量的时间、谈判和许可来启动事物。当然，这一切也转化为成本。如果面板被水平安装，则需要高于一定高度，以使农业设备在收割作物时能够从下方通过它们。这导致需要更多的材料，并且这些面板的安装结构尚未进行大规模生产。因此，它们很难找到，而且目前的制造成本更高。
Now in study quoted by the Department of Energy, researchers in Germany estimated while ground-bounded panels cost an average of 572 euros per kilowatt, which is about $611 dollars, and a required investment of 486,000 euros per hectare, which works out to about $520,000, an agriphal-take system with elevated modules cost about 1,234 euros per kilowatt, or about $1,319. And an investment of about 802,000 euros per hectare, which is about $857,000. It's almost double the cost of the original. And these numbers seem really high compared to what we saw in our previous video on agriphal techs, where a study in implied energy quoted the difference is just 10-20%.
在美国能源部的一项研究中，德国的研究人员估计，与地面板相比，带有升高模块的农业光伏系统平均每千瓦的成本约为1234欧元，即约为1319美元，每公顷的所需投资约为802000欧元，即约为857000美元。这几乎是原始成本的两倍。与我们在之前的农业技术视频中看到的研究相比，这些数字似乎非常高，那项研究暗示差异仅为10-20％。
And the costs seem to range wildly, and this comes down to everything from steel prices, adjusting materials to handle geographical problems like wind, labor costs, and safety precautions. Current vendors will provide hugely different estimates, which impact where and when the projects can get started. It's also still early days for agrival-takes, and new things like this usually start out expensive and then drop and cost over time.
成本看起来似乎相差很大，这涉及到许多因素，例如钢铁价格、适应地理问题，如风、劳动力成本和安全预防措施等。目前供应商会提供极不同的估价，这会影响项目何时何地开始。同时，农业技术也处于早期阶段，像这样的新事物通常一开始会很昂贵，随后随着时间的推移会降价。
But these high numbers limit agrival-take system developments, and testing in countries with smaller economies, which not only restricts who can start an agrival-take farm, but preventing additional research the field needs to develop.
然而，这些高数字限制了农业提取系统的发展，在经济规模较小的国家进行测试，不仅限制了谁可以开始农业提取农场，还阻止了领域需要发展的额外研究。
Speaking about limited research, it's worth mentioning that we've only found ways for certain crops to benefit from agrival-take so far. Shade-tallant crops like lettuce, peppers, and tomatoes saw increased yields in a 2019 study from the University of Arizona by up to 300%. However, other crops like grain, watermelons, or corn want to be the sun most of the day. And then there's some more finicky crops that really need a specific amount of light and shade throughout the day, so let's throw some shade on those plants.
提到有限的研究，值得一提的是，目前我们只发现了一些农业技术可以让特定的作物受益。像生菜、辣椒和西红柿这样的遮荫植物在亚利桑那大学进行的一项研究中，产量增加了高达300％。然而，其他作物如谷物、西瓜或玉米通常需要一整天的阳光。还有一些非常挑剔的植物需要在一天中特定的光照和阴影下生长，因此我们需要对这些植物进行一些遮荫。
How does AI measure, optimize, and protect crops? Well, let's ask, hey, chat GPT, how do we optimize that sun, shade, and moisture for every type of plant? Okay, it's not that simple, but AI is helping us to improve growing conditions and agrival-take farms. The past year for AI has been nuts.
人工智能如何对农作物进行测量、优化和保护？我们可以问一下，嘿，聊天GPT，我们如何为每种植物优化阳光、阴影和湿度？好吧，这并不简单，但人工智能正在帮助我们改善种植条件和农业发展。过去一年对于人工智能来说是疯狂的。
From an industry that was associated with reading voiceovers, we've landed in a place where AI writes term papers, creates art, and even produces culture. Okay, maybe culture producer is to generous a name for a me-making robot, but the rise of AI can't be denied. Just no wonder this tech has even entered the world of agrival-tex and helped to level it up.
我们从一个与配音相关的行业跨足到了AI写作学术论文、创作艺术甚至创造文化的领域。好吧，也许文化制作者对于一个自我创造的机器人来说有些过于慷慨了，但是AI的兴起是不可否认的。难怪这项技术甚至进入了农业纺织业并帮助它向前迈进。
Although sensors have been built into solar panels since the beginning, algorithms are not being used in agrival-take farms for everything from keeping crops warm at night to deploying nets to protect them from pests. Now, of course, they're also measuring sunlight and using data to adjust to different crops needs too.
尽管自从一开始就把传感器集成到太阳能板中，但是现在的算法也在农业领域得以应用，担任诸如维持作物夜间温暖、部署网栅防御害虫等种种角色。当然，如今它们也能测量阳光强度，并运用数据来适配不同种植作物的需求。
One company leading the pack with this technology is SunAgrie. They say their AI system can determine the ideal tilt of panels according to sunshine and water requirements than adjust to the growth model of the crop, soil quality and weather forecasts by the day. Just last year, they launched an experimental project worth 2.5 million euros across an area of four hectares that included mounted solar panels which automatically deployed nets to protect apricots, cherries, and nectarines from health storms.
领先这项技术的一家公司是SunAgrie。他们称，他们的人工智能系统可以根据阳光和水需求确定太阳能面板的理想倾斜角度，然后根据作物的生长模型、土壤质量和天气预报进行调整。就在去年，他们在四公顷的实验性项目中推出了价值250万欧元的项目，其中包括安装的太阳能面板，这些面板会自动投放网来保护杏、樱桃和nectarines等水果免受自然灾害的影响。
Many of the planning details are rather annoying drop-axe that we spoke about earlier are solved by the company by assigning a rep to work through the administrative procedures. To prove the results, SunAgrie sets up a control plot on your land so that you can compare yield and results, which is a cool little feature that can help push research in the field further.
先前我们谈论到的许多计划细节是相当令人烦恼的，例如砍斧等问题，公司通过指派代表来处理行政手续来解决这些问题。为了证明结果，SunAgrie在您的土地上设立了一个控制区，可以让您比较产量和结果。这是一个很棒的功能，可以促进该领域的研究进一步发展。
SunAgrie's claim to fame comes from a 2019 experiment in which the dynamic agrival-take system was used to cover French vineyards under the threat of climate change, spring frost, and rising temperatures. 280 panels with a generation capacity of 84 kilowatts were placed above a vineyard that measured conditions and adjusted the amount of light that the vines received throughout the season.
SunAgrie因为一项2019年的实验而广受称赞，该实验使用了动态农业覆盖系统，来应对气候变化、春季霜冻和升高的温度对法国葡萄园的威胁。在一个葡萄园上方安装了280个电板，总容量达到了84千瓦，这些电板可以测量当季的环境状况，并且调整葡萄藤接收的阳光照射量。
Even through heat waves in 2019, the grapes grew normally and water demand was reduced by 12 to 34% for the sheltered vines thanks to a reduction in evapotranspiration, which is water evaporating from the soil and transpiring from the plants. It's also claimed that the aromatic profile of the grapes was improved in the agrival-take farm, that the grapes produced 13% more anthocyanides which are red pigments, and they were 9 to 14% more acidic. I'm not exactly a wine connoisseur, so we'll have to trust all the experts on this, but if AI has the potential to make our food taste even better, I'll toast to that.
即使经历了2019年的高温天气，这些葡萄仍正常生长，得益于蒸发自土壤及植物蒸腾减少，遮阴的葡萄的用水需求减少了12%至34%。据称，在Agrival-take农场，这些葡萄的芳香味得到了改善，葡萄生产的花色素（红色色素）增加了13%，酸度提高了9%至14%。我并不是完全的葡萄酒鉴赏家，所以我们需要相信所有专家的看法，但是如果人工智能有潜力让我们的食物味道更好，我会为此举杯庆祝。
Okay, so we spoke a lot about how solar panels can be mounted above crops until they're accordingly to optimize the amount of light the plants get throughout the day, thanks to AI systems, but what if we used a simpler technology to constantly move the panels around instead so that optimizing light became less of a concern?
好的，我们谈论了很多关于如何将太阳能电池板安装在庄稼上方，以便通过AI系统使其调整，从而每天最大限度地优化植物获得的光线数量。但是如果我们使用一种更简单的技术来不断移动电池板，使得优化光线变得不那么重要，那会怎么样呢？
Well, harvester, okay, just a side note, is it pronounced harvester with a 2 or hydrogen harvester? I'm just going to call it harvester, and I wish companies would stop getting cute with their names, but harvester has created a carbon neutral solar car, basically a group of solar panels on wheels that autonomously move around a farmer's land to generate sustainable energy throughout the day.
好的，收割机，只是一个侧面的注释，它是发音为带 2 的收割机还是氢收割机？我只想称它为收割机，并希望公司停止在他们的名称上搞花哨，但收割机已经创造了一辆碳中性的太阳能汽车，基本上是一组太阳能电池板通过轮子自主移动在农民的土地上产生可持续的能源。
It can navigate ditches, fields, and tall grass, and since it rotates between plots of land, it has the potential to be used for different types of crops that overhead solar panels can't yet benefit. The team is marketing harvester as an additional crop that farmers can add to their repertoire, again doubling the use of the land that they own without impacting their crop yield.
它能够跨越沟渠、田野和高草，由于它能在不同空地间旋转，所以具有被用于目前太阳能板无法受益的各种作物的潜力。该团队将此收割机推销为农民可以增加到自己的作物种类中的另一种作物，再次将他们所拥有的土地的利用率翻了一翻，而不会影响他们的作物产量。
Now, the solar cars store energy as hydrogen, and the company claims this will refund farmers on their purchase over time as they sell the energy back. After the hydrogen is collected, it's eventually used for clean energy. It can be sold to third parties, agricultural cooperatives, energy corporations, industries, or even used by the farmers themselves.
现在，太阳能汽车会将能量储存成氢，该公司声称这将随着将能量卖回去逐步地返还给农民。氢被收集后，最终用于清洁能源。氢可以出售给第三方、农业合作社、能源公司、工业，甚至可以由农民自己使用。
The potential for agrival tex, advancements in the field, and AI implementations have been promising. But there's still a ways to go when it comes to fully deploying these systems and putting them into practice. While the technology has evolved over the last couple of years, and new policies are starting to make a push, it still may take some time for agrival tex to become more mainstream.
在农业技术、领域进步和人工智能实现方面，潜力是巨大的。但是，要将这些系统完全部署并应用到实践中，还有很长的路要走。尽管技术在过去几年已经发展了，新的政策也开始推动，但农业技术仍可能需要一些时间才能变得更加主流。
When win scenarios can happen, but it's going to take some serious investigation into how to best optimize agrival tex for different plants, people, and regions. So do you think agrival tex is worth pursuing? Jump in the comments and let me know. And be sure to check out my follow-up podcast still to be determined we'll be discussing some of your feedback.
当获胜情况可能出现时，但要深入研究如何最优化适合不同植物、人和地区的农业文本，这需要一些认真的调查。所以，你认为追求农业文本是值得的吗？在评论中跳进来告诉我。并确保您查看我的续集播客，我们将讨论一些您的反馈意见，待定。
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