The Impact of Fixed-Tilt PV Arrays on Vegetation Growth Through Ground Sunlight Distribution at a Solar Farm in Aotearoa New Zealand

Matlotlo Magasa Dhlamini and Alan Colin Brent ()
Additional contact information
Matlotlo Magasa Dhlamini: Sustainable Energy Systems, Te Wāhanga a Manaia—Faculty of Science and Engineering, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
Alan Colin Brent: Sustainable Energy Systems, Te Wāhanga a Manaia—Faculty of Science and Engineering, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6140, New Zealand

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 20, 1-26

Abstract: The land demands of ground-mounted PV systems raise concerns about competition with agriculture, particularly in regions with limited productive farmland. Agrivoltaics, which integrates solar energy generation with agricultural use, offers a potential solution. While agrivoltaics has been extensively studied, less is known about its feasibility and impacts in complex temperate maritime climates such as Aotearoa New Zealand, in particular, the effects of PV-induced shading on ground-level light availability and vegetation. This study modelled the spatial and seasonal distribution of ground-level irradiation and Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density (PPFD) beneath fixed-tilt PV arrays at the Tauhei solar farm in the Waikato region. It quantifies and maps PPFD to evaluate light conditions and its implications for vegetation growth. The results reveal significant spatial and temporal variation over a year. The under-panel ground irradiance is lower than open-field GHI by 18% (summer), 22% (spring), 16% (autumn), and 3% (winter), and this seasonal reduction translates into PPFD gradients. This variation supports a precision agrivoltaic strategy that zones land based on irradiance levels. By aligning crop types and planting schedules with seasonal light profiles, land productivity and ecological value can be improved. These findings are highly applicable in Aotearoa New Zealand’s pasture-based systems and show that effective light management is critical for agrivoltaic success in temperate maritime climates. This is, to our knowledge, the first spatial PPFD zoning analysis for fixed-tilt agrivoltaics, linking year-round ground-light maps to crop/pasture suitability.

Keywords: agrivoltaics; irradiance modelling; Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/20/5412/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/20/5412/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:20:p:5412-:d:1771040

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Cassie Shen

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().