Agrivoltaics as a systems innovation: multi-dimensional benefits from global studies across climate, agriculture, energy, and ecosystems
Agrivoltaics offers a promising alternative to land competition between crops and solar farms. Most agrivoltaic research and policy discourse, however, has focused on energy yield and food output, overlooking the broader spectrum of ecological, economic, and social benefits, that has made it challenging to fully assess agrivoltaics’ potential as a comprehensive systems-level solution. This study addresses this gap by synthesizing findings from prior studies and categorizing their insights into six distinct but interconnected spheres of agrivoltaic impact: Sustainability Sphere (Water-Climate-Ecosystem), Soil-Crop Sphere (Agricultural Yield and Food Security), Socioeconomic Sphere (Economic and Financial Resilience), Solar Power Sphere (Energy and Power Generation), Spatial Efficiency Sphere (Land Productivity & Land Use Synergies), and Species Sphere (Human and Animal Welfare). The evidence demonstrates that implementing agrivoltaics across crops that demonstrated yield increases could generate an additional 1800 million tonnes of food globally in a maximum-potential scenario, which could potentially feed more than 2.1 billion people annually. Such a scale of impact suggests that agrivoltaics could be instrumental in reducing global hunger and mitigating starvation-related deaths, especially in regions most vulnerable to food insecurity. Economically, the increased agricultural output could generate over $1 trillion USD in additional agriculture income, bolstering rural livelihoods, national economies, and global trade. Agrivoltaics not only promotes more efficient land use but also reduces water demand and carbon emissions by partially shading crops, thereby mitigating the negative effects of climate change on yield and irrigation needs. It is clear that agrivoltaics is a multidimensional solution with far-reaching global implications.
Highlights
[edit | edit source]- Agrivoltaics can add 1800+ million tonnes to global crop yields annually.
- Over 2.1 billion people could be fed yearly with surplus AVS crop production.
- Agrivoltaics may generate over $1 trillion in added global agricultural income.
- Systems reduce CO2 and water use while improving land and crop efficiency.
- Agrivoltaics offers a scalable solution to food, climate, and economic insecurity.
See also
[edit | edit source]The Western Innovation for Renewable Energy (WIRED) system is currently under construction to test out new open source methods to reduce PV systems costs and enable novel forms of agrivoltaics including the world's first agrivoltaic agrotunnel.
- Coal with Carbon Capture and Sequestration is not as Land Use Efficient as Solar Photovoltaic Technology for Climate Neutral Electricity Production
- Dual use of land for PV farms and agriculture literature review
- sheep
- Israeli white plastic reflectors
- A Farmer's Guide to Going Solar (NREL)
- German guidelines: https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/content/dam/ise/en/documents/publications/studies/APV-Guideline.pdf
- 2021 review
- Miskin, C.K., Li, Y., Perna, A., Ellis, R.G., Grubbs, E.K., Bermel, P. and Agrawal, R., 2019. Sustainable co-production of food and solar power to relax land-use constraints. Nature Sustainability, 2(10), pp.972-980.
- Retrofitting solar parks for agrivoltaics
- Shading PV
- Alexis' talk at American Solar Grazing Association2021
In the News
[edit source]From: Financial Analysis of Agrivoltaic Sheep: Breeding and Auction Lamb Business Models
- Raising sheep for grazing under solar panels makes everyone clean, green money - Western News
- Sheep Grazing Under Solar Panels Yields Green Profits Mirage News
- Agrivoltaics paired with sheep production makes nearly 100% of land grazable TechXplore
- Agrivoltaics paired with sheep production makes nearly 100% of land grazable MSN
- Grazing ’solar’ sheep offer lucrative solution for farmers My Science
- Global Renwable News
- Rinnovabili
- Education News Canada
- How agrivoltaics and “solar” sheep are redefining profitable farming in Canada PV Buzz
- Nature’s best lawnmower: How solar grazing is changing the photovoltaic landscape Euronews
- Yahoo NewZealand
- Bundle
- Photos: Sheep grazing boosts solar farms and soil health in the US and Europe Interesting Engineering
- O melhor cortador de relva da natureza: como o pastoreio solar está a mudar a paisagem fotovoltaica EuroNews
- La meilleure tondeuse à gazon de la nature : comment le pâturage solaire change le paysage photovoltaïque - Observatoiredeleurope
- Solar sheep grazing under agrivoltaic arrays can maximise land use News9
- El mejor cortacésped natural: ¿Cómo el pastoreo solar está cambiando el panorama fotovoltaico? Yahoo Spain
- ‘Solar shepherds’ earn big by grazing sheep on solar farms — and they benefit everyone involved Modern Science
- Sheep farmers are crazy about solar power plants: “Salaries are higher than lawyers” Central asia Climate Portal
- Researchers make unexpected discovery about sheep raised in nontraditional environment: 'There is an enormous opportunity' The Cool Down
- ‘Solar shepherds’ earn big by grazing sheep on solar farms — and they benefit everyone involved The Conversation
- Får och solparker - en vinst för både lantbruk, får och klimat Energinyheter (se)
- Researchers make unexpected discovery about sheep raised in nontraditional environment: 'There is an enormous opportunity' Yahoo
- Une étude révèle un duo gagnant : moutons et panneaux solaires, “un potentiel immense” Le Energeek
- ‘Farming Sunshine’ Brings Food, Power Producers Together for Local Baaa-nefit The Energy Mix
- Bùng nổ ngành nông nghiệp quang điện Saigon Online
- Solar sheep make better wool? The Carbon Almanac
- How to use sheep to manage vegetation at solar farms, boost agriculture Farm Progress
- Tarımsal Voltaik Sistemler ve Koyunlar Tarim Gundem (Turkish)
- Les « moutons solaires », un mariage lucratif entre agriculture et énergie propre Radio Canada
Agrivoltaics in Canada
[edit source]- Solar Sheep, Alberta (https://www.solarsheep.ca/)
- Sun Cycle Farms, Alberta (https://suncyclefarms.com/)
- Golden Leaf Agrivoltaics, Ontario (https://goldenleafagrivoltaics.ca/)
- The Lara Cost Farm, Ontario (https://thelaracosta.com/)
- Arnprior Solar, Ontario (https://www.edf-re.com/project/arnprior-solar/)
- Lewis Land & Stock, Ontario (https://solargrazing.org/asga-call-29-don-lewis-from-lewis-land-stock-of-ontario-canada/)
- Nanticoke Solar, Ontario (https://www.opg.com/stories/hundreds-of-grazing-sheep-helping-to-keep-opgs-nanticoke-solar-facility-in-trim-shape/)
- Western University’s Western Innovation for Renewable Energy Deployment (WIRED) (https://www.appropedia.org/Western_Innovation_for_Renewable_Energy_Deployment_(WIRED))
- Orchard, Middlesex, Ontario
- Solar Grazing Map https://solargrazing.org/map/
| Authors | Uzair Jamil, Joshua M. Pearce |
|---|---|
| License | CC-BY-SA-4.0 |
| Organizations | Free Appropriate Sustainable Technology, Western |
| Cite as | Uzair Jamil, Joshua M. Pearce (2026). "Agrivoltaics as a systems innovation: multi-dimensional benefits from global studies across climate, agriculture, energy, and ecosystems". Appropedia. Retrieved July 18, 2026. |