Food, Energy, and Health Implications of Agrivoltaic Farms

Abstract

The benefits of agrivoltaics (AV) are documented, with empirical evidence for their suitability for collocated energy generation, crop cultivation, and water savings, even for staple crops. What is lacking is a holistic modeling framework to design and optimize AV systems for specific crop types, micro‐environments, and panel configurations. To this end, a multiphysics model that simultaneously solves momentum, energy, and mass exchanges among interacting components, and determines the implications of AV on photosynthesis, water use, power generation, and worker thermal stress is introduced. The model is tested against field data from California and Minnesota. Its applications are illustrated for a representative AV scenario using weather data from central New Jersey, showcasing the multifaceted benefits of AV for a tomato farm under photovoltaic panels. In this scenario, the model predicts a 5.6 reduction in average daytime panel temperature (compared to a common photovoltaic installation), recovering 15% of the thermal energy losses. Despite a 47% reduction in light for the setup modeled here, net carbon assimilation declined by 31%. Daytime crop leaf temperature cooled by 1.84, and these reductions offset some of the decline in carbon assimilation. Another benefit is the reduction in transpiration losses by 22.4% compared to an open crop field. Finally, the average perceived temperature experienced by workers was reduced by approximately 4.46 during working hours. While these are illustrative results for a particular crop and climate, they demonstrate how the model enables integrated assessment and optimization of AV benefits across varying climates, crops, and photovoltaic technologies.