{"id":136517,"key":"Creating_just_agrivoltaic_transitions_for_large-scale_solar:_a_comparative_multi_criteria_analysis","title":"Creating just agrivoltaic transitions for large-scale solar: a comparative multi criteria analysis","latest":{"id":1273960,"timestamp":"2026-09-16T15:30:39Z"},"content_model":"wikitext","license":{"url":"https://www.appropedia.org/Appropedia:Copyrights","title":"CC-BY-SA-4.0"},"source":"{{Solar footer}}\n\n{{FAST notice}}\n\n[[File:Ladyjustice.png|thumb]]\n\n{{Publication data\n| type = Research\n| cite-as = Uzair Jamil, Nischala McDonnell, Peter Davies, Madeline Taylor, Joshua M. Pearce, Creating just agrivoltaic transitions for large-scale solar: a comparative multi criteria analysis, ''Solar Energy'', Volume 305, 2026, 114195, ISSN 0038-092X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2025.114195. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0038092X25009582)[https://www.academia.edu/145399949/Creating_just_agrivoltaic_transitions_for_large_scale_solar_a_comparative_multi_criteria_analysis academia OA]\n| year = 2026\n| location = Canada, Australia\n| authors = Uzair Jamil, Nischala McDonnell, Peter Davies, Madeline Taylor, Joshua M. Pearce\n}}\n\nAgrivoltaics 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.\n\n{{Pearce publications notice}}\n\n== Highlights ==\n\n* First systematic multi-criteria analysis of just agrivoltaic transitions.\n* Comparative assessment of EU, Canadian, and Australian case studies.\n* France leads on farmer rights; Alberta and NSW reveal policy gaps.\n* Actionable reforms across agriculture, economics, justice, and environment.\n* Provides a replicable framework to guide just agrivoltaic deployment.\n\n[[File:Mca-agrivoltaic.jpg|thumb|x600px|Comparative performance of the five jurisdictions across the four evaluation pillars: (a) bar chart and (b) radar chart. The bar chart highlights relative strengths and weaknesses pillar by pillar emphasizing direct numerical comparison, while the radar chart provides an integrated view of balance and gaps across the entire framework highlighting multidimensional balance. Both charts use a 0–1 scale where higher values indicate stronger policy and regulatory alignment with just transition objectives. France demonstrates the strongest overall performance in Social Justice, whereas Germany excels in Agricultural Productivity, underscoring differing regulatory approaches to just agrivoltaics.]]\n\n== See also ==\n\n{{Pearce-agrivoltaics}}\n\n* [[Agrivoltaics Canada]]\n\n{{Page data\n| keywords = agriculture, agrivoltaic, Canada, farming, photovoltaic, solar energy, energy, solar power, photovoltaics, Land use, Dual use, Agrivoltaics, FAST Completed, climate policy, farming,Just transition, Socio-legal framework, Energy policy, Land use, Agricultural policy\nthin film photovoltaic, partially transparent photovoltaic\n| sdg = SDG02 Zero hunger, SDG07 Affordable and clean energy, SDG09 Industry innovation and infrastructure, SDG12 Responsible consumption and production, SDG13 Climate action\n| published = 2026\n| authors = User:Uzairjamil, Nischala McDonnell, Peter Davies, Madeline Taylor, User:J.M.Pearce\n| organizations = Free Appropriate Sustainable Technology, Western, Macquarie University\n| license = CC-BY-SA-4.0\n| language = en\n}}\n\n[[Category:Australia]]\n[[Category:Canada]]\n[[Category:Energy policy]]\n[[Category:Farming]]\n[[Category:Energy]]\n[[Category:Land use]]\n[[Category:Agriculture]]\n[[Category:Photovoltaics]]\n[[Category:Agrivoltaics]]\n[[Category:FAST Completed]]"}