Scientific frontiers of agrivoltaic cropping systems

Agrivoltaic (AV) systems integrate agriculture with electricity conversion through photovoltaic (PV) modules. Compared with conventional ground-mounted PV systems, AV systems can reduce land-use competition and offer agronomic and economic advantages, such as more stable crop production and additional farm income. However, AV systems can decrease agricultural performance and are typically 20–90% costlier to install than conventional PV systems. In this Review, we analyse the implementation of AV cropping systems to preserve agricultural activities and highlight challenges and barriers. The global electricity potential of AV systems is ~66–385 PWh annually, depending on PV technology and installation density, if deployed in the most suitable areas, without accounting for grid availability. Scaling up has been hindered by crop selection for shading conditions, decreased energy conversion per unit of land area and issues with social acceptance, landscape impact and environmental sustainability. These issues can be addressed by developments such as wavelength-selective PV; system configurations, such as optimizing module spacing to reduce shading; and operational methods, such as optimizing tracking strategies and integrating agricultural infrastructure. Cross-sector policies can support AV systems by addressing the needs of diverse stakeholders over shared land resources. Further development will require collaboration among the design, performance, deployment and systems research communities.

CAMPANA Pietro Elia;  MACKNICK Jordan;  CROCI Michele;  ELKADEEM Mohamed;  GORJIAN Shiva;  PASCARIS Alexis;  CUPPARI Rosa Isabella;  AMADUCCI Stefano;  LIU Wen;  TROMMSDORFF Max;  STURCHIO Matthew;  MULLER Onno;  AGOSTINI Alessandro;  CHATZIPANAGI Anatoli;  SCOGNAMIGLIO Alessandra;  ZHANG Jie; 

2025-11-17

Springer Nature

JRC141216

3005-0685 (online),   

https://www.nature.com/articles/s44359-025-00110-9,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC141216,   

10.1038/s44359-025-00110-9 (online),