South Korean Scientists Invent Solar Trees to Replace Solar Panels — and Save Forests
The planet is not in an optimal spot at the moment, and humans are likely to blame. For years, natural resources have been exploited to fulfill modern requirements. Seeing the damage facilitated by these actions, authorities worldwide have been trying to reduce this exploitation. The latest entry in this pursuit is tree-shaped solar arrays. Findings regarding this new equipment created by South Korean scientists have been published in the journal Scientific Reports. The equipment can both attract a large amount of solar energy, a renewable source of energy, and also does not require a lot of cleared forest land for its establishment.
What are Solar Trees?
Presently, solar energy is cultivated through solar farms on a large expanse of land, according to My Electric Sparks. The arrangement does reduce dependency on fossil fuels, one of the main reasons behind global warming. However, the massive expanse of land on which the farm is built gets cleared of valuable forest cover for this pursuit. The forest cover is important for the ecosystem, and a large-scale loss of it could also hurt the planet in an unprecedented manner.
A team of South Korean scientists built solar trees, which are vertical solar arrays, whose panels extend like branches and leaves, to address this problem. These arrays are placed 65 feet apart from each other inside the forest canopies. This placement allows the arrays to capture sunlight comparable to solar farms, and also provides an opening for sunlight to reach plants and animals below the solar trees.
Comparison with Solar Farms
In solar farms, the panels are ground-mounted, which requires cutting forests, according to ZME Science. Solar trees are installed vertically in the canopy, which does not need as much clearance. "Linear arrangements of these structures achieve superior power capacity compared to conventional fixed panels while preserving existing forest cover," the team reported.
Simulations using Google Earth satellite imagery revealed that solar trees preserved 99% of the forest, while solar farms left just 2% forest cover in their wake. One simulation indicated that the change also did not compromise energy output. The 63 solar trees produced 1 megawatt of electricity, which is typically produced by a large flat-panel plant, according to the exercise.
Advantages of Solar Trees
Researchers believe that utilizing solar trees at their full potential could help South Korea with its deforestation problem. Between 2016 and 2018, deforestation associated with solar farms quadrupled in South Korea, from 529 to 2,443 hectares, according to records. Replacing the farms with solar trees could be a positive step forward in reducing these numbers. The current plan is to install these trees in hiking trails or forest boundaries.
Along with reducing deforestation, these trees can also provide shade to pedestrians as well as cars. Some of this equipment has charging ports, which could be a boon for electric vehicles. The study also expects that the arrangement will introduce a cooling effect in urban "heat island" zones, where rising temperatures are hurting public health. Several nations have come together and pledged to triple renewable energy while balancing deforestation by 2030; these measures can help these countries achieve the goal.