Agrivoltaics: Opportunities for Agriculture and Energy Transition

The principle is that the agrivoltaic system should be adapted to the existing cultivation (crops and dimensions of the machinery) of an area and not vice versa. It must be considered on a case-by-case basis which adaptations from the agricultural side (e. g. choice of variety) would nevertheless be advantageous. However, the previous agricultural use of an area is continued.

What are the adverse effects?

• The loss of land for agricultural use is a maximum of 10 percent for high-mounted systems and a maximum of 15 percent for ground-level systems (DIN SPEC 91434).
• As the solar modules intercept part of the solar radiation and precipitation, the air circulation and the light and water conditions for the plants change, for example. These factors influence the choice of variety.
• Maneuvering the agricultural machinery between the pillars takes some getting used to at first.
  Therefore pillars can be provided with ram protection, which is often essential in arable farming.
• However, the agrivoltaic system should not interfere with machine cultivation, which is why system developers or project planners must be made aware that the system design must be adapted to the machines. If there is a high density of solar modules, it still needs to be investigated whether the GPS control is influenced by machines.

The increased benefits (crop yields and resilience) are particularly high for special crops such as fruit, vegetable and wine cultivation, as these crops are severely affected by hail, frost and drought and are better protected from such weather damage by partial roofing with solar modules. Examples can be found in the "Agri-PV Baden-Württemberg model region" project. In addition the synergy effects are more pronounced with special crops, which is why the benefits are particularly high.

Shade-tolerant crops, such as leafy or fruiting vegetables, or field forage species (e. g. clover grass) are also very suitable.

Arable crops under agrivoltaics are particularly suitable in dry areas. In Heggelbach near Lake Constance, good results were achieved in hot years with winter wheat, barley, rye, triticale, potatoes, celery and clover grass; in years with high precipitation, yield losses were up to 20 percent.

In principle, there are few funding opportunities for practice facilities. However, the following support is available, provided that all the relevant requirements are met:

• The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) provides funding for qualified advice on the conceptual design of new energy generation systems. In addition to advice, an entire agrivoltaic system is rarely funded, as very specific conditions of a directive must be fulfilled. Further information can be found on the BMEL website.
• The feed-in tariff for electricity from agrivoltaic systems with a clear height of at least 2.10 meters is subsidized with a technology bonus per kilowatt hour in accordance with the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG 2023). The amount of the bonus will decrease from 1.2 ct/kWh to 0.5 ct/kWh from 2023 to 2028 (see Section 38 b (1) in conjunction with Section 48 (1) no. 5 EEG 2023).
• In North Rhine-Westphalia, there is an investment subsidy of 25 percent for agrivoltaic systems via the funding instrument.
• The GAP direct payments will continue to be paid out for 85 percent of an area with an agrivoltaic system if it is still possible to cultivate the area using the usual methods for the respective agricultural sector and a maximum of 15 percent of the area is lost due to the agrivoltaic system (see question 20 and Section 12 GAPDZV of 24.01.2022).
• Some banks offer favorable credit conditions for agrivoltaics projects.

There are, of course, several options to obtain a building permit. The focus is on a privileged status in accordance with §35 BauGB or an urban land-use planning procedure. More details on this in our guide.

Yes, there are already examples of young cattle, sheep and chickens under agrivoltaics in Germany.

The current DIN SPEC 91434 on agrivoltaics mentions animal husbandry in the form of pasture use in categories 1D and 2D, but without specific requirements.

A new standard, DIN SPEC 91492, is currently being developed by the German Institute for Standardization (DIN e.V.). It is intended to provide requirements for livestock farming under agrivoltaics, as well as a differentiation from ground-mounted PV systems. Sheep are currently a common sight under ground-mounted PV systems, but the focus is usually on energy generation and the agricultural added value per area is low compared to agrivoltaics.