Solar Forest Power System

The forest-photovoltaic is to install a solar tree in such a forest area so that the forest can continue to absorb carbon while producing renewable energy. Compared to a general flat fixed panel, the solar tree has a higher structure and a stronger support base, increasing construction costs.

The aim of this study was to explore the operational potential of forest-photovoltaic by simulating solar tree installation. The forest-photovoltaic concept is to maintain carbon absorption activities in the lower part while acquiring solar energy by installing a photovoltaic structure on the upper part of forest land.

The principle of the forest-photovoltaic is that the solar tree utilizes the remaining sunlight used for forest growth. The agrophotovoltaic system is a concept that produces crops and electricity in parallel in farmland and has recently been widely known as the solar sharing theory 12, 13.

Solar tree-based forest-photovoltaic has a higher installation cost than agricultural photovoltaics since it has scattered distribution over a large area, although forest landscape can be preserved.

Solar trees can produce more electrical energy than traditional flat fixed panels when placed in an equal amount of solar insolation for the same time duration 4, 5, 6. The key element of the solar tree is to control the arrangement of solar panels so that sufficient sunlight can be irradiated to the lower forest cover.

Therefore, it could overcome the problem of land scarcity as solar trees can capture solar energy without deforestation in mountainous regions 8. 70% of national land in South Korea consists of forests, about 20% of which are agricultural fields for food production, and the remaining 10% is made up of urban areas 9.