Monitoring and assessment of elevated agrivoltaic systems in southern Spain

Agrivoltaics is a promising solution to alleviate several challenges that society currently faces, such as the impact of climate change on agriculture, the continuous rise in energy demand, and the associated land use competition between renewable energy projects, particularly solar photovoltaic, and agricultural areas. This study assesses the performance of two experimental agrivoltaic installations in southern Spain, an important agricultural region that is increasingly affected by the impacts of climate change. An approach combining simulations and field measurements is used. The results show the agrivoltaics potential to reduce excessive radiation on crops, with annual reductions of up to 50 % beneath the panels. They also indicate a positive impact on the microclimate, including lower daytime temperatures of up to 2 °C on hot days and higher nighttime temperatures up to 0.5 °C. Relative humidity values were up to 4 percentage points lower underneath the panels, with site-dependent differences associated with the cultivated crop, growth conditions and irrigation practice. Energy and crop assessments at the demonstrators show performance ratio values higher than 0.9, and potential to maintain crop yield while saving water below the panels. The work also presents identified challenges and recommendations that can support advances toward enhancing performance assessment in agrivoltaics.