Creating just agrivoltaic transitions for large-scale solar: a comparative multi criteria analysis
Agrivoltaics enables synergies between solar photovoltaics and agriculture, offering a dual solution to preserve agricultural activities while producing renewable electricity. Agrivoltaic systems promote agricultural, economic, social, and environmental outcomes, advancing Sustainable Development Goals SDG 2 (Zero Hunger); SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy); SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production); and (SDG 13 Climate Action). While the climate, technological, and agricultural productivity benefits of agrivoltaics are well understood, questions remain concerning its socio-technical opportunities and challenges as a catalyst for just transitions in both mature and emerging agrivoltaics jurisdictions. This study presents the first multi-criteria analysis (MCA)-based just transition assessment of agrivoltaics, providing a novel quantitative and socio-legal framework to evaluate its contribution to equitable energy transitions. Assessing the multifaceted contribution of agrivoltaics to climate, food, and energy security requires quantifying and evaluating benefits and risks to activate just transition-focused policy and legal reform. In turn this can enable the acceleration of socio-technical innovations to achieve landscape-level just agrivoltaics. The MCA framework is applied to three mature European agrivoltaic jurisdictions − Germany, Italy, and France − to guide emerging agrivoltaic practices in Alberta, Canada, and New South Wales, Australia. Applying quantitative and socio-legal functional comparative mixed methods MCA approach, the study provides a replicable framework to inform policy and regulatory design, highlighting opportunities to align agrivoltaic deployment with broader just transition objectives. The study findings offer actionable socio-legal insights for scaling agrivoltaics while embedding just transition principles, with broader implications for energy, climate, and agricultural policy.
Highlights
[edit | edit source]- First systematic multi-criteria analysis of just agrivoltaic transitions.
- Comparative assessment of EU, Canadian, and Australian case studies.
- France leads on farmer rights; Alberta and NSW reveal policy gaps.
- Actionable reforms across agriculture, economics, justice, and environment.
- Provides a replicable framework to guide just agrivoltaic deployment.
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, Nischala McDonnell, Peter Davies, Madeline Taylor, Joshua M. Pearce |
|---|---|
| License | CC-BY-SA-4.0 |
| Organizations | Free Appropriate Sustainable Technology, Western, Macquarie University |
| Cite as | Uzair Jamil, Nischala McDonnell, Peter Davies, Madeline Taylor, Joshua M. Pearce (2025–2026). "Creating just agrivoltaic transitions for large-scale solar: a comparative multi criteria analysis". Appropedia. Retrieved May 30, 2026. |
- Pages with HorizontalNavigation.js
- Solar
- Pages with Notice.js
- Publications
- Pages with Video.js
- Agrivoltaics
- Solar power
- Solar energy
- Photovoltaics
- Sustainable development
- Agriculture
- SDG02 Zero hunger
- SDG07 Affordable and clean energy
- SDG09 Industry innovation and infrastructure
- SDG12 Responsible consumption and production
- SDG13 Climate action
- 2025
- Australia
- Canada
- Energy policy
- Farming
- Energy
- Land use
- FAST Completed