Preliminary Results of a PV Closed Greenhouse System for High

Irradiation Zones in South Italy

C. Campiottia, F. Dondi, F. Di Carlo and G. Alonzo
M. Scoccianti Department Ingegneria e Tecnologie
ENEA, Department Biotechnology, Agro Forestali
Agro-Industry and Health Protection University of Palermo
Italy Italy

C. Bibbiani L. Incrocci
Department Produzioni Animali Department Biologia delle Piante Agrarie
University of Pisa University of Pisa
Italy Italy

Keywords: closed greenhouse, photovoltaic greenhouse, renewable energy, Sicily, stand-

alone PV solar system

Abstract
In the frame of the MODEM (a sustainable model of a closed greenhouse
system to modernize the protected crop sector in the S-E coast of Sicily) a research
project was carried out by ENEA and the preliminary results on the utilization of a
stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) system to produce electricity for a prototype of a PV
closed greenhouse, are reported. The system was located in a rural area with a large
presence of greenhouses (about 9,000 ha), near the town of Ragusa along the S-E
coast of Sicily. The site is located near the sea coast (36°50’ latitude; 14°31’
longitude, 87 m altitude). The PV greenhouse prototype was provided with a stand-
alone (PV) system (1.1 kWp DC peak power) equipped with a battery bank (24 V/
900 Ah) to store the electric power, as well as an inverter device (24 V DC/230 V AC;
2500 W) to produce AC electricity. The PV arrays were positioned on the roof of the
prototype. Performances about the PV energy generation and the supply of
electricity for pumping of the installed hydroponics tomato crop are reported. A
data logger system was installed in order to record outdoor climatic parameters of
temperature, humidity, total and PAR radiation. In addition, another data-logger
was used to record power and current measurements, with attention to the daily
electricity energy production delivered by the PV arrays, the daily net energy stored
in the batteries or discharged from the batteries, and the energy consumed by the
available greenhouse loads. Preliminary results of the PV solar system were
satisfactory. Total energy consumption of 21 plants during the 120 days of
cultivation was of 168 Wh day-1, equivalent to about a total energy demand of
19.48 kWh. The 1.1 kWp PV arrays produced a total energy of about 333.6 kWh in
the period of 10 September to 23 December 2008.

INTRODUCTION
South Italy receives a great amount of solar energy on an average of the order of
more than 5 kWh d-1 m-2 during the summer season, with peaks of 7 kWh d-1 m-2 in some
areas located in the island of Sicily (ENEA, 2007). These levels of irradiation can
certainly be used for generating some photovoltaic (PV) electricity to fulfil the energy
demand for electricity of greenhouses in summer, i.e., pumping, window and screen
opening motors, artificial lighting, dynamic ventilation and fans, irrigation and control
system equipment. However, the PV technology can contribute to support greenhouse
acclimatization by application of hybrid system (air-to-water heat pumps, fan-pad
systems, standard heat pumps, PV/T solar system) (Al-Helal et al., 2006; Sujata et al.,
2007). During the last decade, PV solar as sustainable option for greenhouse
a
campiotti@casaccia.enea.it

Proc. IS on High Technology for Greenhouse Systems - GreenSys2009 243

Ed.: M. Dorais
Acta Hort. 893, ISHS 2011
acclimatization in regions characterized by high irradiation have gained importance, in
accordance with both the growing market of renewable energy and the demand coming
from society for reducing energy fossil fuel consumption and emissions of CO2. The
socio-environmental and health costs for Southern Europe would be 0.15 c€ kWh-1, with a
corresponding GHG emissions between 21-45 g CO2-eq kWh-1 (Fthenakis and Alsema,
2006). In European community (27 countries) more than 200 000 hectares of greenhouses
are operating of which not less than 20% provided with acclimatization systems using
fossil fuels (Waaijenberg, 2006; Campiotti et al., 2008).
Greenhouse energy consumption has steadily increased as a result of the
increasing demand of quality and vegetable production availability all-year-round, with a
rising concern regarding the economic costs and CO2 emissions. Consequently, from an
economical and environmental point of view, and in agreement with the EU policy on
energy and renewable energy, and the Kyoto Protocol (European Commission, 2006;
Sinke, 2006; Šúri et al., 2007), the application of PV power generation for greenhouses
acclimatization appears a convenient choice in Mediterranean regions of Southern Europe
characterized by a large greenhouse sector (Al-Ibrahim et al., 2006; Yano et al., 2006).
Since PV electricity generation has a low energy density per hectare, its integration into
the greenhouse sector can really have a cost-effective application particularly by stand-
alone and decentralized plants typologies, in combination with a storage battery system or
integrated with other renewable technologies (Rocamora and Tripanagnostopoulos, 2006;
Tiwari and Sodha, 2006). The added value of PV technology to modernize the greenhouse
sector has a remarkable importance, with attention to the closed greenhouse system
(Kozai et al., 2006). Hence, considering the importance of the economics associated with
the greenhouse sector in most rural areas of southern regions of Italy, ENEA has been
developing a research project so-called “MODEM” (a sustainable model of a closed
greenhouse system to modernize the protected crop sector on the South East coast of
Sicily) with the general objective to define a model of a simple and sustainable PV closed
greenhouse system able to make cost-effective use of the incoming solar energy in the
greenhouse areas of Sicily, in South Italy. This paper reports the preliminary results of the
research activity carried out at the selected areas of South-East coast of Sicily, well
known as one of the most important greenhouse products market in Europe and the high
solar irradiation, which can reach 1 870 kWh y-1 m-2 (ENEA, 2007).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The prototype of the PV solar closed greenhouse system was manufactured as a
standard container module of dimensions 6.055 m (l)  2.435 m (w)  2.585 m (h) (Fig. 1)
and equipped to be a PV stand-alone system. The PV solar system delivers 1.1 kWp DC
peak power, and was mounted on the roof by a proper structure to sustain 6 PV panels
with 180 Wp rated power each (Sharp Photovoltaic module NU-SOE3E, monocrystalline
silicon solar cells). The PV power system included a battery bank, such as 24 V and
900 Ah battery storage banks (24 VDC; 450 Ah) with a power discharge of 80%. As the
sun rises, the PV arrays starts to generate DC current which then flows to the charge
regulator which is provided with an electronic tracking system (MPPT) and determines
the operating circuit voltage to which the PV system operates. Once the power from the
PV system is drawn, that amount is instantly used to charge the batteries which then
discharge DC power to the load on the base of its energy demand. However, the current
can be converted from DC to AC via a DC/AC inverter (24 VAC/230 V AC; 2,500 W).
Meteorological parameters, such as outdoor parameters of air temperature, humidity, total
and PAR solar radiation, have been logged (Skye model Spectro Sense with pyrometer
Kipp & Zonen model CMP3). In addition, another data-logger was used in order to record
power and currents measurements, with attention to the daily electricity energy
production, the daily energy delivered by the PV arrays, the daily net energy stored in the
batteries or discharged from the batteries and the energy consumed by the greenhouse
users. A third data-logger was installed to record inside microclimate factors as global
and PAR solar radiation, temperature and humidity. The closed greenhouse facility was

244
equipped with a recirculation hydroponics system made of 3 channels 2 m long, for
growing of 21 plants of tomatoes. When necessary, the prototype was ventilated during
the day by manually opening its windows, which however were maintained closed at
night. Although the inside microclimate conditions were not properly adapted mainly in
terms of humidity levels that reached night time values of RH 100% and low lighting
levels, the tomato crop was cultivated for 120 days till fruiting that, however, as expected
was not satisfactory.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Table 1 reports both the geographical characteristics and the annual horizontal
solar irradiation of the selected experimental site in South Italy. Such data are from the
ENEA data base (http://www.enea.it). The prototype PV solar closed greenhouse system
started operation at the end of April 2008, but the monitoring system to record the daily
electricity and the energy production was installed only in September (Fig. 1). However,
the tomato crop was transplanted on 2 December 2008 and took out after 116 days of
cultivation. A schematic block diagram of the installed PV system is illustrated in Figure
2. It shows a general layout regarding the different segments and components of the
system, namely: the charge regulator MPPT, the batteries, the DC/AC inverter and the
wiring connections. Figure 3 shows the climatic characteristics of the selected site in
terms of temperature and humidity, while in Figure 4 the profiles of outdoor global and
PAR solar incoming radiation are shown.
Figure 5 shows the energy capacity production of the PV solar system. To
illustrate the daily energy power performance of the PV arrays, a day in December was
selected as shown in Figure 6. It can be certainly ascertained that this winter day was
clear, with a good level of incoming solar radiation. Accordingly, the sun started shining
around 7:00 am allowing the current to flow from the PV system, with its peak around
noontime (Fig. 7). Then, the solar intensity (irradiance) started to decrease until the sun
reached sunset around 5:30 pm, during which the current stopped to flow. However, it
should be outlined that the recorded energy production as shown in Figure 8 should
mainly refer to the energy delivered to both the battery storage and to the greenhouse
electric applied loads at that time as inside light, various LEDs, data-loggers and pumps.
This has a better evidence from the previous Figure 7 where can be seen either the
energy power provided from the PV arrays and the recharge of the batteries which were
previously discharged. Figure 7 clearly shows that as the solar intensity increased, the PV
system began delivering power to the batteries which just around 2:00 pm reached the full
state of charge, and could not absorb more energy from the PV arrays. Experiments made
to check the power energy of the PV arrays during the period 5-10 December 2008 are
reported in Table 2. It can be seen that the amount of power delivered from the PV array
was quite satisfactory, with a mean energy production of 2.02 kWh day-1.
Hence, this table shows a good harmony between the solar irradiance (Fig. 4) and
the PV power capacity, and this confirms that the more solar incidence to the system, the
more the available power from the PV arrays to meet the energy users. Finally, it should
be outlined that the efficiency of the stand-alone PV system was strictly correlated to the
associated load which if in a “sleeping phase” did not allow to the PV arrays to fully
produce electricity. Table 3 reports the energy demand of the tomato crop cultivated in
the closed greenhouse system under experimentation. A 12 V water pump was fed by the
PV array providing the energy for the recirculation of nutrient solution. The hydroponics
system was made by three pipes of 20 cm as inside diameter and 2 m long, each one
shaped in order to host 7 plants rows. Due to the limited inside lighting, plants reached
fruiting but gave only little production. Total energy consumption of 21 plants during the
120 days of cultivation was of 168 Wh day-1, equivalent to about a total energy demand of
19.48 kWh (Table 3).

CONCLUSIONS
The potential of using a photovoltaic (PV) system can be very efficient in areas

245
characterized by high solar irradiation such as most regions of South Mediterranean
Europe. The preliminary outcomes of the present research activity showed that the PV
power by stand-alone system can be a significant option to meet the electricity energy
requirements of greenhouses. Data recorded for a greenhouse tomato crop showed that if
properly implemented, PV closed greenhouse systems can contribute satisfactorily to a
hydroponics closed greenhouse. Evaluations made by the collected results showed that
the installed PV arrays was able to generate 333.6 kWh during the period 10 September to
23 December 2008. Regarding its economic applicability, the PV technology shows a
relative investment costing in the range of 5-6 € Wp-1 IVA included, especially when
mono-crystalline solar cells are used. However, the cost of this renewable energy should
be seen in comparison to the benefits for better quality environments CO2 emissions being
avoided and with the implementation of new income-productive activities in rural areas
with large settlements of greenhouses. Therefore, the cost of the PV electricity produced
should be quantified also on the base of the “external costs” that today are not properly
accounted neither by the governments and the producers nor by the consumers of energy.
Optimization and investigations are still in progress to establish the PV potential to fully
cover the energy needs of the greenhouse sector in the greenhouse areas of south-eastern
coast of Sicily.

Literature Cited
Al-Helal, I., Al-Abbadi, N.M. and Al-Ibrahim, A. 2006. A study of evaporative cooling
pad performance for a photovoltaic powered greenhouse. Acta Hort. 710:153-164.
Al-Ibrahim, A., Al-Abbadi, N. and Al-Helal, I. 2006. PV greenhouse system - system
description, performance and lesson learned. Acta Hort. 710:251-264.
Campiotti, C., Bibbiani, C., Alonzo, G., Balducchi, R., Dondi, F., Catanese, V.F.,
Genovese, N. and Incrocci, L. 2008. Photovoltaic as sustainable energy for
greenhouse and closed plant production system. Acta Hort. 797:373-378.
ENEA. 2007. Project MODEM. Technical report. Det.223/2007/DG.
European Commission. 2006. Green Paper. A European Strategy for Sustainable,
Competitive and Secure Energy, COM 2006, 105 final.
Fthenakis, V. and Alsema, E. 2006. Progress in photovoltaics: research and applications.
Prog. Photovolt. Res. Appl. 14:275-280.
Kozai, T., Ohyama, K. and Chun, C. 2006. Commercialized closed systems with artificial
lighting for plant production. Acta Hort. 711:61-70.
Rocamora, M.C. and Tripanagnostopoulos, Y. 2006. Aspects of PV/T solar system
application for ventilation needs in greenhouses. Acta Hort. 719:239-246.
Sinke, W. 2006. PV priorities and the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA). PVTP General
Assembly, Brussels.
Sujata, N., Ghosal, M.K. and Tiwary, G.N. 2007. Performance of winter greenhouse
coupled with solar photovoltaic and hearth air heat exchanger. Agricultural
Engineering International: the CIGR Ejournal. Manuscript EE 07 015. Vol IX.
November.
Šúri, M., Huld, T.A., Dunlop, E.D. and Ossenbrink, H.A. 2007. Potential of solar
electricity generation in the European Union member states and candidate countries.
Solar Energy 81:1295-1305.
Tiwari, A. and Sodha, M.S. 2006. Performance evaluation of solar PV/T system: an
experimental validation. Solar Energy 80:751-759.
Waaijenberg, D. 2006. Design, construction and maintenance of greenhouse structures.
Acta Hort. 710:31-42.
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246
Tables

Table 1. Annual horizontal solar irradiation at Santa Croce Camerina (Sicily).

Geographical data
Data Latitude Longitude Altitude
Angle 36°50’ 14°31’ 87 m
Decimals 36.83 14.52
Monthly mean of global daily solar irradiation (Hh)
Months Nb of days Hh day (Wh m-2) Hh month (Wh m-2)
January 31 2416.67 74917
February 28 2805.56 78556
March 31 4388.89 136056
April 30 5416.67 162500
May 31 6388.89 198056
June 30 6777.78 203333
July 31 6777.78 210111
August 31 6027.78 186861
September 30 4833.33 145000
October 31 3694.44 114528
November 30 2638.89 79167
December 31 2194.44 68028
Note: panel angle (ß)=30°; Azimut=0°; Hb=direct radiation; Hd=diffuse radiation, Hr=reflective radiation.

Table 2. Data on the PV solar system.

Irradiation Electricity generation General efficiency

Date
(Wh.d-1.m-2) (Wh.d-1) (%)
05/12/2008 1 808.94 1 910 13.43
06/12/2008 2 868.41 2 190 9.71
07/12/2008 2 935.43 2 180 9.45
08/12/2008 3 035.96 2 170 9.09
09/12/2008 2 744.91 2 110 9.78
10/12/2008 1 402.95 1 590 14.42
Mean 2 466 2 025

Table 3. Energy consumption of the hydroponics tomato crop.

Pumping (min h-1) 10

Pumping (min d-1) 24
Pumping (h d-1) 4
Pumping capacity (Watt) 42
Energy consumption (Wh d-1) 168
Energy consumption of 21 plants (kWh d-1) 0.168
Total energy consumption of tomato crop in 116 days in kWh 19.48

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Figures

Fig. 1. Prototype of the PV closed greenhouse system under experimentation.

Fig. 2. Lay-out of the installed PV system.

248
 Fig. 5. Electricity generation by the installed PV array (1.1 kWp).

Fig. 4. Values of outside and PAR radiation.

Fig. 3. Values of outside temperature and relative humidity.

-2
Wm
Watt

100

200

300

400

500

600

700
temperature (°c)

100
0
1000

1200

10
20
30
40
50
60
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0:0:0 4/12/8

0
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0
00:00:13 05-12-08 8:40:0 4/12/8 08:15:01 04.12.2008
06:56:13 05-12-08
17:20:0 4/12/8 16:15:01 04.12.2008
13:52:13 05-12-08
2:0:0 5/12/8 00:15:01 05.12.2008
20:48:13 05-12-08 08:15:01 05.12.2008
10:40:0 5/12/8
03:44:13 06-12-08 16:15:01 05.12.2008
10:40:13 06-12-08
19:20:0 5/12/8
00:15:01 06.12.2008
17:36:13 06-12-08 4:0:0 6/12/8
08:15:01 06.12.2008
00:32:13 07-12-08 12:40:0 6/12/8 16:15:01 06.12.2008
07:28:13 07-12-08 21:20:0 6/12/8 00:15:01 07.12.2008

PAR
Global
14:24:13 07-12-08 6:0:0 7/12/8 08:15:01 07.12.2008
21:20:13 07-12-08
14:40:0 7/12/8
Wp

16:15:01 07.12.2008
04:16:13 08-12-08 00:15:01 08.12.2008
23:20:0 7/12/8
11:12:13 08-12-08 08:15:01 08.12.2008
8:0:0 8/12/8
18:08:13 08-12-08 16:15:01 08.12.2008
16:40:0 8/12/8
01:04:13 09-12-08 00:15:01 09.12.2008

temperature
RH
08:00:13 09-12-08 1:20:0 9/12/8 08:15:01 09.12.2008
14:56:13 09-12-08 10:0:0 9/12/8 16:15:01 09.12.2008
21:52:13 09-12-08 18:40:0 9/12/8 00:15:01 10.12.2008
04:48:13 10-12-08 3:20:0 10/12/8 08:15:01 10.12.2008
11:44:13 10-12-08 16:15:01 10.12.2008
12:0:0 10/12/8
18:40:13 10-12-08
20:40:0 10/12/8

0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
relative humidity (%)
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 0
.0
23 8
8 00 /0
/ 0 2. 12
12 2 0 8/ 08
8/ / 08 1.0 0 2/
12 2 0 .0 /1 8
23 0 8 2/0

05/12/2008 06/12/2008 07/12/2008 08/12/2008 09/12/2008 10/12/2008

8/ / 08 0.0
.0 /1 8

Fig. 7. Power energy generation on a typical day (8 December 2008).

12 2 0 22 0 8 2/0
Fig. 6. Outside global radiation on a typical day (8 December 2008).

8/ / 08 9.0
Global

kWh/d
.0 /1 8
12 1 0 21 0 8 2/0
8/ / 08 8.0 .0 /1 8
12 1 0 20 0 8 2/0
8/ / 08 7.0 .0 /1 8
12 1 0 19 0 8 2/0
8/ / 08 6.0
Wp

.0 /1 8
12 1 0 18 0 8 2/0
8/ / 08 5.0 .0 /1 8
12 1 0 17 0 8 2/0
8/ / 08 4.0 .0 /1 8
12 1 0 16 0 8 2/0
8/ / 08 3.0 .0 /1 8
12 1 0 15 0 8 2/0
8/ / 08 2.0 .0 /1 8
14 0 8 2/0
12 1 0 .0 /1 8
8/ / 08 1.0
13 0 8 2/0
12 1 0 .0 /1 8
8/ / 08 0.0
12 0 8 2/0
12 1 .0 /1
8/ / 08 .00 11 0 8 /08
12 9 .0 2
8/ / 08 .00 10 8/1 /08
12 8 00 12
8/ / 08 .00 9. 8/ /08
12 7 00 12
8/ / 08 .00 8. 8/ /08
12 6 00 12
8/ / 08 .00 7. 8/ /08
12 5 00 12
8/ / 08 .00 6. 8/ /08
12 4 00 12
5. 8/ /08

Fig. 8. Daily energy generation.

8/ / 08 .00
12 3 00 12
8/ / 08 .00 4. 8/ /08
12 2 00 12
8/ / 08 .00 3. 8/ /08
12 1 00 12
8/ / 08 .00 2. 8/ /08
00 12
12 0 1. 8/
8/ / 08
00
12 0.
8/

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2,5

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Wm

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-2

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