
Agrivoltaics or agrophotovoltaics means co-developing the same area of land for both solar photovoltaic power and agricultural production.[1] The coexistence of solar panels and crops implies a sharing of solar radiation between these two types of production.[2] It can be defined as the practice of integrating solar photovoltaics with agricultural practices, for siting photovoltaic production systems on or adjacent to cropland or grazing land. It implies the symbiotic co-production of both agricultural goods and solar energy, with the intent of optimizing the combined outputs. An Ontario company calls Agrivoltaics "a perfect combination of solar panels and plants on farmland... to generate crops and energy simultaneously and without conflict." Agrivoltaics can be thought of as the scientifically planned companion planting of solar energy production and agricultural production.
This page introduces the topic and is intended to help users to find specific content based on geographic focus, climate type, crop or animal production type, and other factors.
Clair, J., et al. (2026) “SAND Final Report TCF SNL Agrivoltaic Microgrid Project v1,” Sandia Ntional Laboratory, Report No. SAND2026-18050. https://www.academia.edu/165156267/SAND_Final_Report_TCF_SNL_Agrivoltaic_Microgrid_Project_v1?sm=a&rhid=39205360899
Hayibo, Koami S. and Pearce, Joshua M., A GIS-Driven Framework for Quantifying Agricultural Fence-Mounted Solar Photovoltaic Energy Potential. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=6403959 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6403959
Science Friday Initiative. 2026. The Growing Experiment Of Putting Solar Panels On Farmland. https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/agrivoltaics-solar-panel-farming/
Jamil, Uzair, Alrayes, Linda, et al. 2026. "Agrivoltaic Lettuce Production Under Future Climates: Integrating Photovoltaic Energy Conversion with Sustainable Food Production." Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=6066895 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6066895
Where does agrivoltaics fit within the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals?
Where does agrivoltaics fit within the context of the Pattern Language for a Conservation Economy and Reliable Prosperity?
University of Massachusetts Amherst developed a new set of analytical tools to help farmers calculate whether agrivoltaics make economic sense for them. The two spreadsheet-based tools consist of a crop-specific logbook to analyze farm-level activities and a whole-farm tool to calculate aggregate projections for trade-offs between crop production with or without agrivoltaics. The spreadsheets incorporate factors such as different solar technologies, crop spacing, labor costs, and extra fuel to navigate farm equipment around solar panels.
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.


From: Financial Analysis of Agrivoltaic Sheep: Breeding and Auction Lamb Business Models
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| Cite as | TomStanton, Uzairjamil (2021–2026). "Agrivoltaics". Appropedia. Retrieved October 1, 2026. |