The development and implementation of agrivoltaic systems internationally

Abstract

Agrivoltaics was first developed in the 1980s and first began being used around 2004 with the purpose of combining agricultural activity and solar energy generation. Between 2015 and 2024, the world witnessed an increase in the development of renewable energy sources like solar energy, as well as an increase in the need to solve land use disputes, preserve the health and soil quality of thousands of acres of land, diversify revenue sources, and in some cases increase crop yields and ecological benefits to land within agriculture (Ballard et al., 2023). Agrivoltaics has been studied extensively in terms of technical aspects, and is helpful for increased crop yield, reduced water evaporation and soil preservation, lower temperatures, diversified income and off-set prosecution costs. The purpose of this study is to analyze agrivoltaic development within specific countries of the world and identify factors related to governmental and structural aspects that affect implementation. In order to do this, I analyzed agriculture data as well as renewable energy and solar energy development, overlaying them and looking for areas where there is both high crop productivity and high solar energy generation. Within this analysis, three countries were chosen as case studies for analysis: Germany, Thailand, and Chile. Research was done on government and structural policy to explain why and how agricultural and solar development occurred, and how agrivoltaics has or has not developed as another form of renewable energy. Eleven factors affecting implementation of agrivoltaics were identified, including factors relating to investment and government financial support, electricity generation and forms of renewable energy, and various aspects of agricultural structure and climate change effects. Many of the factors affecting these countries and worldwide vary according to governmental structure and geographic and regional location, and there is still much to be studied and understood about the benefits and viability of implementation of agrivoltaics.