Analysis of the use of photovoltaic systems within the AGRI-PV concept in the Portuguese context

Currently, most of the agricultural activities are powered by fossil fuels, which increases greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and, as a consequence, climate change. Agriculture accounts for around 10% of total European Union GHG emissions and requires an increasing amount of energy, land resources and water. In this context, it is possible to address both problems with the combination of photovoltaics and plant production, often referred to as agrivoltaics (agri-pv) or agrophotovoltaic (APV) systems, providing a suitable resource-efficient solution to the persistent problem of arable lands, reduced GHG emission and energy efficiency. The present study is carried out with the objective of introducing and evaluating the potential of implementing this concept in Portuguese territory. The purpose of the study is not only to address the compatibility of energy production with food growth but also to make the farm energetically self-sufficient and to make use of the excess energy through the respective commercialization with market agents. The work aims to study the techno-economic viability of implementing an agri-pv system within a kiwifruit farm located in the north of Portugal. Three sites belonging to the same production were selected and then divided into plots that constituted different types of photovoltaic applications. The study was based on three fundamental pillars: the study of the shadow projection by the PV panels on the existing plantations and how this affected the amount of incident sunlight; the sizing and analysis of the photovoltaic systems simulated with PVsyst software in the selected areas; and the calculation of the energy produced by the PV systems. The results showed that combining photovoltaics with agriculture can be highly beneficial from an energetic point of view.