Chiba Eco Japan
The Agri-PV project which includes two farms in the Chiba Prefecture East of Tokyo, is a compelling example of how the SolarEdge solution can benefit farmers and solar developers alike.
Background
The Agri-PV project which includes two farms in the Chiba Prefecture East of Tokyo, is a compelling example of how the SolarEdge solution can benefit farmers and solar developers alike. The farms are owned by Mr. Takeshi Magami - a tech enthusiast, entrepreneur and early adopter of Agri-PV. They operate as part of his company Chiba Ecological Energy Inc., and its group’s company Tsunagu Farm Inc. (a certified agricultural corporation). Mr. Magami promotes Agri-PV by bringing together PV experts and farmers to demonstrate the mutual benefits through practical examples.
Agri-PV projects of this type offer economic opportunities for PV developers and farmers, as well as environmental benefits in the face of the global race to net zero.
The Challenge
When searching for a suitable PV system for his two farms, Mr. Magami wanted to address several challenges:
- Safe work environment: After evaluating farm-based solar PV safety regulations in the U.S. and the EU, he concluded that it was essential to ensure the safety of the farming environment by implementing electrical system safety and fire prevention measures, using a real-time monitoring system where every two modules are connected to a power optimizer.
- Financial viability and government regulatory compliance: The Agri-PV system had to generate maximum power and revenues and comply with the high crop yield threshold requirements.
Installation at a Glance
Site 1: Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture
Site 2: Chonan Town, Chiba Prefecture
The Solution
In August 2021, Mr Magami installed a SolarEdge Agri-PV solution, selected for its advanced DC safety technology and real-time module-level monitoring. It reduces both mismatch energy losses and maintenance costs, which maximizes yield and revenues.
Optimizing both energy and crop yields
Bifacial PV modules elevated on mounting structures enables the cultivation of figs plants underneath. The shading rate was set at 28% and the installation angle at 10˚ to ensure that sufficient light reaches the crops under the modules. Highly reflective tarps were affixed to the ground to prevent weed growth and to maximize the ground’s albedo (reflected solar radiation). The entire solution combining DC-optimized inverters and Power Optimizers, is designed to reduce potential mismatch power losses. Mismatch related power losses are cause by shading, dust, manufacturing tolerances, module ageing and other factors. Typically, bifacial PV modules are susceptible to mismatch power losses because the light that hits the rear side is less uniform than the front.
The SolarEdge solution maximizes the added energy from the rear side of the bifacial modules, regardless of tilt angle, irradiance or ground albedo. The energy is used for powering farm machinery, and excess energy is sold to the utility company to increase revenue. SolarEdge also provides a 20-year warranty for inverters and a 25-year warranty for Power Optimizers.
Safeguarding farmers and assets
SolarEdge MLPE technology is compliant with Japan’s NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization) “Guidelines for Design and Construction of Photovoltaic Power Generation Systems 2023 Edition”, which recommend attaching an MLPE device to each PV module to prevent electrocution. SolarEdge’s multilayered safety features are built into the inverters and the Power Optimizers. If the PV system is shut down for maintenance or in an emergency, SolarEdge SafeDC™ reduces the DC voltage to a touch-safe level, ensuring a safe environment for farmers and PV service crews. SolarEdge Arc Fault Detection and Interruption function together with temperature sensing features to detect, terminate, and prevent electrical arcs. SolarEdge PV inverters are highly water resistant and can operate at up to 95% humidity levels. They are dust and waterproof-certified with an IP65 rating and are ammonia-resistant.
Saving O&M costs with at-a-glance troubleshooting
The SolarEdge Monitoring Platform, accessed from any PC or mobile device, continuously monitors the PV system, providing module-level tracking and energy production reports. O&M personnel receive alerts pinpointing underperforming modules and can troubleshoot remotely. By lowering the need to manually inspect hard-to-reach modules, O&M, service visits and costs are reduced. Remote monitoring also minimizes interference with farming activities and increases system uptime which ultimately saves money.
The SolarEdge DC-optimized inverter technology increases the energy yield from these two farms beyond our initial expectation, resulting in more revenue each year, while also helping to improve a safe working environment for farm workers and other personnel. In this respect, SolarEdge could play a major role in helping me achieve my goal to create a new model of sustainable agriculture (in farms in Japan and globally) by automating and electrifying the entire farming process.
Mr. Takeshi Magami
/ President of Chiba Ecological Energy
