Agrivoltaic is a technological application that allows the co-exploitation of land for both agriculture and electrical energy production with photovoltaic (PV) modules. Agrivoltaic is currently gaining particular interest in many areas of the world and could provide a possible solution towards ecological transition improving electricity production without claiming additional land.
This study simulates the energy and agricultural performance of an agrivoltaic system couple with the cultivation of oleaginous crops for energy purposes. Three agrivoltaic layouts are proposed and compared against a traditional agricultural field and a reference ground-mounted PV field. The agrivoltaics layouts adopted are three overhead fixed solutions with bifacial PV modules arranged in parallel rows in single “portrait” position (1P). Each layout is identified by different length of the pitch, respectively of 8, 10 and 12 meters. Three rainfed energy crops (camelina, safflower and castor-oil plant) have been simulated for each APV layout.
Every APV solution resulted in better crop yield compared to the reference agricultural field. This outcome is the consequence of the reduced solar radiation available to the crops during the summer months when water stress negatively affects the growth of the plant. Compared to the reference ground-mounted PV field, electricity production [kWh / ha∙year] decreases between -50% and -67%, while the electricity specific yield [kWh / Wp] improves between +13% and +15%. According to the Land Efficiency Ratio, every agrivoltaic solution results in an overall better use of the land.
