Agrivoltaics
Agrivoltaics is the practice of using the same parcel of land simultaneously for solar PV power generation and crop or livestock production, improving land-use efficiency, reducing crop heat stress in hot climates, and creating a secondary revenue stream for landowners and farm operators.
Agrivoltaics (also called agri-PV, agrophotovoltaics, or dual-use solar) is the co-location of solar PV arrays and active agricultural production on the same land area. The concept was first demonstrated in 1981 by Adolf Goetzberger and Armin Zastrow, who showed that shading crops with overhead PV panels could reduce water evaporation and boost total land productivity compared to using either activity alone.
System configurations range widely. Elevated open-rack systems mount panels 3 to 5 meters above grade, allowing tractors and livestock to move freely underneath. Interleaved row systems alternate narrower crop corridors between tilted panel rows at standard utility heights. Dynamic agrivoltaic systems use single-axis trackers with programmable shading schedules, maximizing light to the crop during critical growth phases and rotating toward optimal PV angle at other times. Greenhouse-integrated agrivoltaics uses semi-transparent or spaced opaque modules as the glazing layer, replacing conventional glass with a PV-generating surface.
Agronomic benefits depend on climate and crop selection. In hot, semi-arid regions, partial shading from panels reduces leaf temperature, lowers evapotranspiration, and can increase crop yield for heat-sensitive species such as lettuce and berries, even as total photon flux declines. Reduced irrigation demand is a documented co-benefit in Mediterranean and arid zone deployments.
Markets with active development include France (regulatory framework since 2022), Germany (EEG 2023 bifacial bonus for agri-PV), Japan (agricultural land-use exemptions), South Korea, the United States (Massachusetts SMART program adder), and Turkey (pilot projects under YEKA and Ministry of Agriculture coordination).
Why it matters for solar installers
Agrivoltaic projects carry higher structural and agronomic complexity than standard ground-mount work. Panel height, row spacing, tilt angle, and shading patterns must satisfy both PV yield targets and minimum light requirements for the specific crop being grown. solarVis' 3D design tools model custom mounting heights and irregular row geometries, and the feasibility engine can layer in location-specific irradiance and shading analysis so you can show a landowning client both the PV production curve and the light availability across the agricultural zone, all in a single bankable output.
Common questions
- What types of crops grow well under agrivoltaic panels?
- Shade-tolerant crops perform best: lettuce, spinach, kale, herbs, and small berries all show neutral to positive yield responses under partial panel shading. Root vegetables and lavender are also common. Shade-sensitive row crops like corn and sunflower are poor candidates unless a dynamic tracker system is configured to maximize light transmission during critical growth windows.
- How does panel height affect the agricultural operation underneath?
- Most commercial agrivoltaic installations mount panels at 3 to 5 meters above ground to allow standard farm machinery to operate underneath. Higher clearance increases racking cost and wind load requirements, so structural engineering is site-specific. Greenhouse-integrated and berry canopy systems use lower mounting heights designed around manual or hand-harvested crops.
- How does shading from agrivoltaic panels affect PV yield?
- Wider row spacing and higher mounting reduce inter-row shading losses, but the primary yield impact is on the crop, not the panels. For the PV array itself, bifacial modules placed in open elevated racking often capture meaningful rear-side albedo gain from soil or vegetation below, partially offsetting any layout-driven efficiency trade-offs.
