Fig 1.
Block diagram of the RSSCA system integrated for energy harvest and agriculture.
Fig 2.
Illustration of key system components: Fresnel lens, filter and high-efficiency solar cells.
Fig 3.
Simulation results of sunlight transmission through the Fresnel lens and distribution at the focal plane receiver.
(a) Ray tracing of sunlight through a Fresnel lens and (b) sunlight distribution at the simulated using LightTools software.
Fig 4.
Simulation results of optical design and sunlight distribution.
(a) Design of secondary optics, and (b) Sunlight distribution at solar cell placement.
Fig 5.
The dichromatic mirror was designed as a Fabry-Perot resonator structure based on TiO2/SiO2 materials.
Fig 6.
Simulation results of dichromatic mirror across the 400 - 700 nm spectral range.
Fig 7.
Transmittance spectrum after combining optical components.
Fig 8.
Ray tracing of optical components in the RSSCA system: design and visualization of light paths.
Fig 9.
Design of a RSSCA system for agriculture.
Fig 10.
Description of RSSCA prototype.
(a) Overall prototype system, and (b) Secondary optic after fabrication, and (c) Convergence of sunlight at secondary optics.
Fig 11.
Spectral transmission of the dichroic filter – selective red light filtering for optimized plant growth.
The filter transmits red light within the 610–645 nm range, matching the key absorption band of chlorophyll-a and supporting rice photosynthesis and flowering, while reflecting non-essential wavelengths toward solar cells for electricity generation.
Table 1.
Specifications of prototypes of RSSCA system.
Fig 12.
Structural comparison of agrivoltaic models – RSSCA system vs. conventional PV system (a).
RSSCA; and (b) Traditional PV. The RSSCA system utilizes dual-axis tracking and modular Fresnel lenses for efficient light splitting and crop illumination, while the conventional PV model blocks light with static, opaque panels, reducing the quality of light available for plant growth.
Table 2.
Technical specifications of RSSCA system and conventional PV Systems.
Fig 13.
Simulated ground-level light distribution – enhanced uniformity under RSSCA design (a) In crop-growing area under RSSCA systems, and (b) Conventional PV system.
Light distribution beneath the RSSCA system shows 68% uniformity, compared to only 35% under conventional PV, promoting balanced crop development through optimized diffuse and spectrally targeted light delivery.
Table 3.
Detailed Comparison of CPAR Direct and CPAR Diffuse for RSSCA and conventional PV Systems.
Table 4.
DLI calculations for different locations and electricity production capacity.