Agrivoltaics provide mutual benefits across the food–energy–water nexus in drylands

Greg A. Barron-Gafford (), Mitchell A. Pavao-Zuckerman, Rebecca L. Minor, Leland F. Sutter, Isaiah Barnett-Moreno, Daniel T. Blackett, Moses Thompson, Kirk Dimond, Andrea K. Gerlak, Gary P. Nabhan and Jordan E. Macknick
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Greg A. Barron-Gafford: University of Arizona
Mitchell A. Pavao-Zuckerman: University of Maryland
Rebecca L. Minor: University of Arizona
Leland F. Sutter: University of Arizona
Isaiah Barnett-Moreno: University of Arizona
Daniel T. Blackett: University of Arizona
Moses Thompson: University of Arizona
Kirk Dimond: University of Arizona
Andrea K. Gerlak: University of Arizona
Gary P. Nabhan: University of Arizona
Jordan E. Macknick: National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Nature Sustainability, 2019, vol. 2, issue 9, 848-855

Abstract: Abstract The vulnerabilities of our food, energy and water systems to projected climatic change make building resilience in renewable energy and food production a fundamental challenge. We investigate a novel approach to solve this problem by creating a hybrid of colocated agriculture and solar photovoltaic (PV) infrastructure. We take an integrative approach—monitoring microclimatic conditions, PV panel temperature, soil moisture and irrigation water use, plant ecophysiological function and plant biomass production within this ‘agrivoltaics’ ecosystem and in traditional PV installations and agricultural settings to quantify trade-offs. We find that shading by the PV panels provides multiple additive and synergistic benefits, including reduced plant drought stress, greater food production and reduced PV panel heat stress. The results presented here provide a foundation and motivation for future explorations towards the resilience of food and energy systems under the future projected increased environmental stress involving heat and drought.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41893-019-0364-5

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