Published on: February 21, 2025 / update from: February 21, 2025 - Author: Konrad Wolfenstein
Agri-photovoltaic: synergies and voltage fields of a double use strategy-creative image: Xpert.digital
Potentials and conflicts: The role of AGRI PV in the energy transition
Agri-Photovoltaic: How double land use transforms the energy future
The increasing spread of agri-photovoltaics (AGRI-PV) marks a change in land use, in which simultaneous electricity and food production in the same area produces both technological innovations and social conflicts of goals. Current studies predict that AGRI PV systems in Central Europe could cover up to 68 % of the energy requirement if only 9 % of agricultural areas were developed for this technology. While the installed performance globally from 5 MWP in 2012 to over 14 GWP increase exponentially in 2021, ambitious expansion goals such as the German goal of 215 GW PV performance by 2030 are faced with the challenge of overcoming acceptance gaps and regulatory hurdles. The Fraunhofer ISE identifies a potential of 1,700 GWP for high-up-up AGRI PV in Germany, but projects such as the planned 300-ha-solar park in Saxony-Anhaltian Geiseltal show that the transformation of the agricultural landscapes can trigger profound socio-economic faults.
Technological innovations and agricultural ecological interactions
System design and earnings optimization
Modern AGRI PV concepts are based on triple optimization: energy yield, agricultural productivity and ecological resilience. Bifaciale solar modules that absorb light on both sides achieve a light permeability of 70–80 % by increased upset (3–5 m) and spacious row distances (10–15 m), which in the APV resola project to a 42–87 % higher area productivity led. Vertical systems such as the Next2Sun system use East-West orientations to create electricity tips in the morning and evening, while at noon there is enough light for plant growth. This anti -cyclical electricity production reduces network bottlenecks and enables harvesting machine use through modular steel structures.
Microclimatic effects and plant yields
The sub-shading by PV modules creates a more stable microclimate, which can lead to earnings increases of up to 16 % for berry cultures in dry years. Long-term measurements of the Lake Constance test system documented higher wheat yields under PV modules (+7 %) in heat summer 2018 with a simultaneous reduction in the need for irrigation. In contrast, there is a loss of earnings of up to 33 % in years with a balanced weather, which illustrates the dependence on the climate stress level. Adaptive systems with trackable modules or light -elective coatings could enable the shading control that are needed in the future.
Economic transformation potential and operational risks
Income diversification for farms
AGRI-PV offers farmers a dual source of earnings: While electricity production generates lease payments of € 3,000–4,000/ha, 85 % of EU direct payments are retained. A Polish case study shows that combined wheat/electricity income increases the net profit per hectare of € 1268 (PV+wheat) compared to 2024 expected losses in monoculture. The University of Göttingen determined an acceptance rate of 72.4 %among farmers, with income security (68 %) and future viability (52 %) main motifs.
Infrastructural and market -related challenges
Despite falling maintenance costs on 4–6 ct/kWh, network bottlenecks hinder the connection of large AGRI PV parks. The Geiseltal project with planned 300 MW has to build 23 km new medium-voltage lines, which devours 30 % of the total investment. In addition, there is a lack of standardized lease contracts: While energy cooperatives such as in Peißenberg farmers offer free land use against PV stream cover, Revenue sharing models with fixed lease and profit sharing dominate in commercial projectors.
Sociopolitical acceptance conflicts and planning law barriers
Local resistance and professionalization of protest culture
The planned Solarpark Kienberg (Bavaria) reveals typical lines of conflict: a citizens' initiative with 1,836 voters (12.4 % share) reached three city council seats and announced lawsuits against the project. Professionally guided campaigns use visual narratives (“plastering the landscape”) and cooperate with nature conservation associations that complain about habitat losses for Feldhamster. Communication experts such as Sándor Mohácsi emphasize that early public participation and transparent visualizations (VR simulations) increase acceptance, but "hard nuclei" are hardly accessible by rational arguments.
Planning law fragmentation and surface scenery
Despite the EEG amendment 2023, which promotes AGRI PV as a "special solar system", the inconsistent interpretation of the area hinders the market high run. While Bavaria allows AGRI-PV to be outdoors, countries such as Baden-Württemberg require elaborate individual exams according to §35 BauGB. The Fraunhofer study criticizes that 70 % of German agricultural areas are blocked for PV through protection status (FFH, water protection), while at the same time 8 % of the arable land is available for 180 GW PV potential in the Visegradstaten.
Regulatory innovation requirements and future development paths
Harmonization of support frames and technology standards
The current EEG funding does not differentiate between AGRI-PV system types, although vertical systems (next2sun) achieve 30 % lower yields with double area efficiency. A three -stage bonus system - 0.5 ct/kWh for basic change, +0.3 ct for biodiversity measures, +0.2 CT for special cultures - could incentive to target innovations. At the same time, a DIN standard (in preparation: DIN SPEC 91434) is required, which defined the canvail availability (600–800 µmol/m²/s) and machine crossing heights (> 3.5 m).
Integration into smart farm-ecosystems
Future projects such as "Agri-PV 4.0" combine PV modules with IoT sensors for microclima monitoring (air humidity, leaf wet duration) and automated irrigation control. Pilot plants in Rhineland-Palatinate test semi-transparent organic modules with adaptive light transaction that evaluates weather forecasts and plant growth data via AI. These systems could integrate hydrogen production (electrolysers under modules) and agri photocatalysis (air purification through TIO2-coated modules).
AGRI PV as a catalyst of an integrative land use turn
The penetration of agricultural areas with PV technology is not a technocracy excess, but a necessary symbiosis to coping with the climate and nutrition crisis. As the REWA project shows, acceptance increases to 78 % if regional power models (25 % on-site consumption) are linked to citizen participations (5–10 kWh shares from € 500). It will be crucial to institutionalize the productive coexistence of ears and electron through clear spatial planning (priority areas on the low -yields) and cooperative planning formats (round tables with farmers, nature conservation, municipalities). With the upcoming EU agricultural reform 2027, there is an opportunity to use Eco-Schemes specifically for biodiversity-promoting AGRI PV systems and thus to harvest the double dividend from climate protection and biodiversity.
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