Interplay between the potential of photovoltaic systems and agricultural land use

Dias, Luís; Gouveia, João Pedro; Lourenço, Paulo B.; Seixas, Júlia

doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.11.036

Cited by 74 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Indirectly, solarland also competes with other land uses such as forest, grass-and scrubland. This structure is based on observed tendencies for solar siting in Europe, India, Japan and South-Korea (see Table S2 in SM), showing that mainly arable land is used for current USSE projects, and supported by academic literature 17,33,34,57,58 and solar industry reports 59,60 . Also, the optimal microclimate for solar energy production (based on insolation, air temperature, wind speed and humidity) is found over land that is currently used as cropland 61 , supporting the assumption that future investors will have a slight preference for cropland (in use or fallow) for the allocation of solar energy projects, among other factors such as flatness and connectivity in terms of roads and electricity grids 22 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 70%

The potential land requirements and related land use change emissions of solar energy

Ven

Capellán‐Pérez

Arto

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

156

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Although the transition to renewable energies will intensify the global competition for land, the potential impacts driven by solar energy remain unexplored. In this work, the potential solar land requirements and related land use change emissions are computed for the EU, India, Japan and South Korea. A novel method is developed within an integrated assessment model which links socioeconomic, energy, land and climate systems. At 25–80% penetration in the electricity mix of those regions by 2050, we find that solar energy may occupy 0.5–5% of total land. The resulting land cover changes, including indirect effects, will likely cause a net release of carbon ranging from 0 to 50 gCO2/kWh, depending on the region, scale of expansion, solar technology efficiency and land management practices in solar parks. Hence, a coordinated planning and regulation of new solar energy infrastructures should be enforced to avoid a significant increase in their life cycle emissions through terrestrial carbon losses.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 70%

The potential land requirements and related land use change emissions of solar energy

Ven

Capellán‐Pérez

Arto

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

156

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show abstract

“…Solar photovoltaic (PV) energy is renewable, generates low emissions relative to fossil-fuel sources (Kreith et al, 1990), and is the cheapest source of electricity in the world (IEA, 2020); the increased deployment of PV systems will be instrumental in mitigating GHG emissions and the associated climate change impacts. Yet spatial constraints in large-scale solar PV development are eminent, as taking advantage of high solar resource availability implies continued open space development and competition for land that receives abundant solar insolation, specifically agricultural land (Dias et al, 2019;Adeh et al, 2019). The potential to deploy solar PV could be cut in half in areas where land is favored for agriculture rather than energy production (Dias et al, 2019), indicating that strategies for ameliorating conflicting land use trade-offs are requisite to enable continued large-scale PV development (Sacchelli et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Yet spatial constraints in large-scale solar PV development are eminent, as taking advantage of high solar resource availability implies continued open space development and competition for land that receives abundant solar insolation, specifically agricultural land (Dias et al, 2019;Adeh et al, 2019). The potential to deploy solar PV could be cut in half in areas where land is favored for agriculture rather than energy production (Dias et al, 2019), indicating that strategies for ameliorating conflicting land use trade-offs are requisite to enable continued large-scale PV development (Sacchelli et al, 2016). Additionally, instances of land use conflict related to solar energy development can give rise to community resistance (Carlisle et al, 2016); among the nuanced reasons for this localized opposition, land type and land use have been identified as critical for shaping public acceptability of solar development (Carlisle et al, 2015;Schelly et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do agrivoltaics improve public support for solar? A survey on perceptions, preferences, and priorities

Pascaris¹,

Schelly²,

Rouleau³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Agrivoltaic systems allow for the simultaneous production of solar-generated electricity and agriculture. As the climate change related impacts of conventional energy and food production intensify, finding strategies to increase the deployment of solar photovoltaic systems, preserve agricultural land, and minimize competing land uses is urgent. Given the proven technical, economic, and environmental advantages provided by agrivoltaic systems, increased proliferation is anticipated, which necessitates accounting for the nuances of community resistance to solar development on farmland. Minimizing siting conflict and addressing agricultural communities’ concerns will be key in promoting public support for agrivoltaics, as localized acceptance of solar is a critical determinant of project success. This survey study assessed if public support for solar development increases when energy and agricultural production are combined in an agrivoltaic system. Results show that 81.8% of respondents would be more likely to support solar development in their community if it combined the production of both energy and agriculture. This increase in support for solar given the agrivoltaic approach highlights a development strategy that can improve local social acceptance and the deployment rate of solar photovoltaics. Survey respondents prefer agrivoltaic projects that a) are designed to provide economic opportunities for farmers and the local community b) are located on private property or existing agricultural land c) do not threaten local interests and d) ensure fair distribution of economic benefits. Proactively identifying what the public perceives as opportunities and concerns related to agrivoltaic development can help improve the design, business model, and siting of systems in the U.S.

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“…[ 18 ] Agrivoltaics can also offer a direct financial advantage compared with classical farming. [ 19,20 ] Several studies have modelled performance and benefits of agrivoltaics [ 15,19,21–27 ] and tested its effect with experiments on plant growth (e.g., lettuce, [ 28–30 ] cucumber, [ 17 ] wheat, [ 16,31 ] onion, [ 32 ] tomato, [ 6,14,33–36 ] and pepper). [ 14 ] By creating opportunities for sustainable dual land usage, agrivoltaics may alleviate the risk of competition between solar panels and agriculture for land with suitable climatic conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tinted Semi‐Transparent Solar Panels Allow Concurrent Production of Crops and Electricity on the Same Cropland

Thompson

Bombelli

Shubham

et al. 2020

Advanced Energy Materials

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Agrivoltaics describes concurrent agricultural production of crops and photovoltaic generation of electricity on the same cropland. By using tinted semi‐transparent solar panels, this study introduces a novel element to transform the concept of agrivoltaics from just solar‐sharing to selective utilization of different light wavelengths. Agrivoltaic growth of basil and spinach is tested. When compared with classical agriculture, and based on the feed‐in‐tariff of the experimental location, agrivoltaic co‐generation of biomass and electricity is calculated to result in an estimated financial gross gain up to +2.5% for basil and +35% for spinach. Marketable biomass yields do not change significantly for basil, while a statistically significant loss is observed for spinach. This is accompanied by a relative increase in the protein content for both plants grown under agrivoltaic conditions. Agrivoltaics implemented with tinted solar panels improve the biomass production per unit amount of solar radiation up to 68%, with up to 63% increase in the ratio of leaf and stem biomass to root. Agrivoltaics can enrich the portfolio of farmers, mitigate risks associated with climate, and vastly enhance global photovoltaics capacity without compromising agricultural production.

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Interplay between the potential of photovoltaic systems and agricultural land use

Cited by 74 publications

References 24 publications

The potential land requirements and related land use change emissions of solar energy

The potential land requirements and related land use change emissions of solar energy

Do agrivoltaics improve public support for solar? A survey on perceptions, preferences, and priorities

Tinted Semi‐Transparent Solar Panels Allow Concurrent Production of Crops and Electricity on the Same Cropland

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