Agrivoltaic: Solar Radiation for Clean Energy and Sustainable Agriculture with Positive Impact on Nature

Abstract

Climate change and land use conflicts represent two of the greatest challenges worldwide. Climate change affects agricultural production by more frequent and more intense extreme weather events besides the continuing temperature and carbon dioxide increase. The most important climate mitigation measure is the abolishment of fossil fuels, and climate change adaptation is needed for sustainable crop production. The concept of agrivoltaics (AV) combines the installation of a photovoltaic (PV) system for clean energy generation with an agricultural use on the same area, increasing land use efficiency and creating synergy effects to adapt agriculture to climate change by protecting crops from extreme weather events. Recently, interest in AV systems is booming in many countries with an estimate 14 GW of electricity being produced by AV worldwide. Latest technical options of AV systems are described, and the advantage for crops is evaluated. Additionally, environmental effects are reviewed, in terms of influences on microclimate, biodiversity, soil conditions and water management. Optimal technical options for installation and management of AV and results of life cycle analyses are presented. Economic comparison showed that if electricity is directly consumed on-farm, an amortization could be achieved after 3.22 years, based on the present electricity costs in Germany.