PhD Studentship: Potential of Agrivoltaics

Location:

Renewable Energy, Penryn, Cornwall, Exeter

The University of Exeter’s Department of Renewable Energy is inviting applications for a PhD studentship funded by University of Exeter and British Solar Renewables to commence on 23 September 2024 or as soon as possible thereafter. For eligible students the studentship will cover Home or International tuition fees plus an annual tax-free stipend of at least £19,237 for 3 years full-time, or pro rata for part-time study. The student would be based in Renewable energy in the Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy at the Penryn Campus in Cornwall.

Project Description:

UK is a country with a population density of 276 people/km², making it a relatively densely populated area compared to the 62 people/km² global average. Naturally, this leads to a heightened dependency on the efficient utilisation of land resources. By far the largest method of land use in the UK is for agricultural land, with 71% of the UK's total land area being used for agricultural purposes. Agricultural activity in the UK satisfied 58% of UK total food consumption in 2021, with the remaining 42% of food consumption being supplied by imports, 23% of which came from EU countries.

However, UKs ambition of achieving 70 GW of installed solar power capacity by 2035 needs significant land. Thus to grow the solar energy market in the UK, land acquisition is inevitable and APV can solve this dilemma. As there is no data available for APV, it is essential to develop and investigate various aspects of APV.
In this work, a scheme will be developed to understand the potential opportunity of agrivoltaics in the UK. New theoretical analysis will be investigate to perform this work.

The studentship will be awarded on the basis of merit for 3 years of full-time study to commence on 23 September 2024. The collaboration involves a project partner who is providing funding, this means there are special terms that apply to the project, these will be discussed with Candidates at Interview and fully set out in the offer letter. The collaboration with the named project partner is subject to contract. Please note full details of the project partner’s contribution and involvement with the project is still to be confirmed and may change during the course of contract negotiations. Full details will be confirmed at offer stage.
International applicants need to be aware that you will have to cover the cost of your student visa, healthcare surcharge and other costs of moving to the UK to do a PhD.

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