Agrivoltaics can reduce political polarization and local opposition to solar energy on land

Abstract As solar energy deployment on land intensifies, political polarization and local opposition increasingly challenge its social acceptance. We propose that agrivoltaics – a dual land-use technology that combines solar power generation with agricultural production – can help bridge ideological divides and reduce local opposition by minimizing land-use conflicts and offering additional benefits to rural communities. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a pre-registered, field-embedded experiment with a representative sample (2145 Swiss residents) just prior to a national renewable energy referendum, combining a personalized geolocated information treatment on local agrivoltaics potential with a conjoint experiment varying key technology and project design attributes. Here we show that agrivoltaics garners broad public support across ideological groups and reduces local opposition, especially when projects are well integrated into agricultural landscapes, do not significantly reduce agricultural yields, and are locally owned. These findings underscore the importance of technology and project design in addressing local and right-leaning opposition to land-based solar energy.