Conservation agrivoltaics for sustainable food‐energy production

Abstract

Societal Impact StatementTransformative agricultural strategies like agrivoltaics (AV) are essential for addressing the pressing global issues of sustainable energy and food production in a changing climate. Conservation‐agrivoltaics (Conservation‐AV) provides the potential to meet these needs while reinforcing natural resources and protecting the environment. It could enhance the ecological benefits of AV by improving soil health and biodiversity. It could create economic opportunities for farmers and increase the resilience and diversity of food crops under changing climate conditions. Furthermore, it could inform stakeholders about the benefits and challenges of implementing conservation agriculture management practices (CAMP) in AV and encourage further exploration and adoption of this innovative approach.SummaryTransformative strategies in agriculture are needed to address urgent global challenges related to energy and food production while reinforcing natural resources and the environment. Agrivoltaics (AV) has emerged in the past decade as one solution to this fundamental challenge of improving energy and food security. AV is defined as the co‐location of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and crops on the same land to optimize food and energy production simultaneously and sustainably. Here, we propose that AV, together with conservation agriculture management practices (CAMP) strategies can help to intensify food security and energy production while reinforcing natural resources and the environment. Our main assertions in this opinion article are that: (1) AV systems need to overcome several agronomical, environmental, and ecological challenges to intensify food and energy production sustainably; (2) CAMP applied to AV systems can preserve the environment and ensure climate‐resilient food production; (3) implementation of CAMP in AV can lead to long‐term carbon sequestration, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and maintain or increase crop yields while preserving soil health and biodiversity; and (4) adoption of CAMP in AV can bring economic benefits, although challenges need to be overcome. This opinion article proposes a new ecosystem approach to integrate renewable energy and sustainable food production and encourages research on the effects of CAMP on AV systems.

Research on Static Evaluation of Economic Value of “Distributed PV +” Model

“…(2) Value of photovoltaic power generation Photovoltaic power generation is sold directly to customers, and the market value method can also be used to calculate the value of photovoltaic power generation; see Equation (2).…”

“…The representative literature is as follows: photovoltaic power can increase the production of various crops, protect plants from the surplus of solar energy, and maintain food supplies [1]. Agrivoltaics can increase the ecological benefits of AV by improving soil health and biodiversity [2]. The advantages of agrivoltaic technology are rural electrification, water conservation, increased industrial output, sustainable income generation, and the reduced use of pesticides [3].…”