Agrivoltaics and weather risk: A diversification strategy for landowners

Rosa I. Cuppari, Chad W. Higgins and Gregory W. Characklis

Applied Energy, 2021, vol. 291, issue C, No S0306261921003111

Abstract: Farms are facing increasing pressure from shrinking margins, extreme weather, and increased competition for land use, including from energy producers. There is evidence to suggest that co-locating solar power production and agriculture, known as agrivoltaic systems, may be a means to reduce concern over the latter. A model is developed to test whether co-location can reduce weather-related financial risk for a landowner, a largely unexplored question, while improving profitability. Stochastically generated weather variables and commodity prices are used to simulate net revenues for a solar only plot, a farm only plot, and an agrivoltaic plot. Application to four test cases (alfalfa/soybeans in Oregon and soybeans/strawberries in North Carolina) illustrate the potential impact of agrivoltaics.

Keywords: Agrivoltaic systems; Solar power production; Agriculture; Hydrometereological uncertainty; Financial risk (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.116809

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