For RvO (Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederlands, a Dutch government department), I organised a multi-disciplinary creative session and guided the farmers and engineers and policy makers in the design process of innovative solar systems to promote sustainable energy generation in the near future without compromising the agricultural sector. On Friday October 13, 2017, I organized the creative inspiration and design meeting that happened all day long on a farm in Bunschoten.
I illustrated, wrote and sent beautiful invitations to all disciplines in the chain with idea contribution potential – from designers and panel manufacturers to farmers and scientists – to arrive at innovative solutions with AgroZon. About 30 professionals joined the creative session and 12 imaginative ideas were showcased at the annual solar industry event on Sunday, November 8.
The creative day started with an introduction on Solar panel Technologies and Design Thinking methods by my boss from WeLL Design, Mathijs van Dijk
Important problems regarding solar systems in farmsland were written by everybody and given stickers in the colours Green (3x, very important) Red (3x, very interesting) and Orange ( 1x, “Here is my passion”)
Resulting in 6 most relevant Partial Problems that the group was divided over to come up with Partial Solutions
Before lunch the solutions were presented to the other groups. After lunch, new groups were created with multidisciplinary members to combine knowledge for their ideal solution to the entire problem.
This is a video with all the generated ideas in our Creative Session October 13th. I composed the video as an open source information on possibilities and a way to vote on peoples favorite idea in the solar industry event contest. The audience award was won by the Synergie concept.
Further elaboration
In the end of November, the concepts were assessed by a jury. The AgroZon jury consisted of:
Kees van Zelderen – Portfolio Holder Climate and Sustainable Energy at LTO Nederland
Olaf van der Veel – Director of the Dutch Renewable Energy Association (NVDE)
Wijnand van Hooff – Program Director Solar Energy at TKI Urban Energy
Marc Tassoul – Lecturer at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, TU Delft
Rudy Brons – Brons + Partners landscape architects BV
The three prize winners of AgroZon are: Synergie, H2vester and SunOpy. Between December 2017 and March 2018, the winners received guidance from design and innovation agency WeLLDesign where I worked.
Synergy
- Vertically placed bifacial PV modules
- Provides energy during peak demand: morning and afternoon
- Space between modules for tractor
- Semi-transparent/reflective cloth between the panels and washed above
- Protective greenhouse operation, higher and more stable yield
Synergy between generating solar power and promoting crop yield, that is the goal of Synergy. Due to the vertically placed bifacial PV modules, power is supplied at times when demand is highest and the peak mid-day that we are used to from solar energy is avoided. Semi-transparent/reflective fabric between high panels and low crops reflects the sun on the panels and has a protective ‘greenhouse effect’, which ensures a higher and more stable yield
H2arvester
- Driving solar panels on mobile ‘creeping construction’
- The H2vester moves to the next segment of the country per season/year.
- Autonomously movable solar panels and can be moved per season, rotating along with crop rotation
- Solar energy is processed into H2 and stored locally
- H2 stock is used when needed
The H2arvester has no electricity, but hydrogen as an end product. Solar power is generated on mobile solar parks. The panels are on wheels at an angle and can either be moved autonomously per season by means of self-generated electricity or they are moved annually across the field. The remaining electricity generated is then converted directly into hydrogen and stored locally. For example, the mobile solar park does not require cabling across the agricultural area. The H2 stock is used when needed.
SunOpy
- Modular, Movable, Adjustable and Foldable Solar Canopy
- Thin, ultra-light, high-efficiency flexible panels
- For every size and type of country
The SunOpy awnings can be moved across the land and can be folded in case of heavy weather. The panels are modular, movable, adjustable and foldable, made of thin, ultra-light, high-efficiency flexible solar foils, which are glued to lightweight cladding. They are shifted over steel cables at 15 m apart. The applications of the underlying land are wide with this AgroZon system.
