Optimal solar module row spacing for agrivoltaics across Europe
AI Analysis
Summary
Researchers in Sweden developed a new methodology to optimize agrivoltaic systems across Europe, showing that row pitch, system type, and panel orientation must be tailored to local climate, crops, and regulatory constraints.
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Researchers in Sweden developed a new methodology to optimize agrivoltaic systems across Europe, showing that row pitch, system type, and panel orientation must be tailored to local climate, crops, and regulatory constraints.</span></p><p>Scientists at Sweden's <a href="https://www.pv-magazine.com/2024/02/16/new-methodology-to-identify-suitable-land-for-agrivoltaics/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Mälardalen University</a> have proposed a new methodology to improve land equivalent ratios (LERs) in agrivoltaic facilities across Europe.</p>
<p>LER is a concept used in agriculture to measure the efficiency of intercropping. It defines how much land would be needed under monoculture conditions to achieve the same yield as under combined use. In agrivoltaics, LER is crucial because it helps quantify the trade-off between shading from solar panels and crop growth, while also accounting for electricity production.</p>
<div>“Agrivoltaic performance is highly context-dependent, driven by interactions between local climate, crop choice, and system design,” the research's lead author, Sebastian Zainali, told <strong>pv magazine</strong>. “Shade-tolerant crops can benefit from denser PV configurations, while more light-sensitive crops require wider spacing and different layouts. This means agrivoltaic systems cannot be deployed as standardised solutions, but need to be tailored to both the crop and the climatic conditions of each site.”</div>
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<div>“Regulatory constraints strongly shape which agrivoltaic designs are actually viable,” he further explained. “More flexible, climate-aware policies allow much better land-use efficiency than rigid thresholds. At the same time, there is no single optimal agrivoltaic system: the design changes depending on whether water, energy, or food is prioritized. Shifting these priorities fundamentally alters the optimal geometry, including row spacing, system type, and panel orientation.”</div>
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<p><span><div class="callout alignnone "><div class="callout-body"> </span>Want to learn more about the <strong>EPC challenges in European agrivoltaics?</strong></p>
<p>Join us on March 5 for the <a href="https://www.key-expo.com/en/event-detail/Dual%20harvest%20double%20trouble%20Tackling%20EPC%20barriers%20in%20agrivoltaics%20design?eventId=6597197&utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=KEN26_Informativa_Eventi+imperdibili_ENG&utm_term=Dual+harvest%2c+double+trouble%3a+Tackling+EPC+barriers+in+agrivoltaics+design&utm_id=1097601&sfmc_id=156250402" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Dual harvest, double trouble: Tackling EPC barriers in agrivoltaics design</a> pv magazine session in English language at KEY – The Energy Transition Expo in Rimini.</p>
<p>Experts will share insights on current agrivoltaic technologies, key design choices and the main barriers to standardized, scalable dual‑use projects in Europe and Italy, including region‑specific EPC issues.</div></div>
<p>The methodology was applied to evaluate agrivoltaic performance across three European locations—Kärrbo Prästgård (Sweden), Jeggeleben (Germany), and Piacenza (Italy)—under different climatic zones and regulatory contexts. The researchers used the Agri-OptiCE® platform, a coupled simulation–optimization model integrating a solar shading model, bifacial PV performance model, and crop growth–microclimate model, linked via a multi-objective optimization algorithm.</p>
<p>A multi-objective genetic algorithm (GA) identified optimal system designs, with performance assessed using LER and cumulative evapotranspiration (ET), a key metric linking crop water use, microclimate, and PV performance. Metrics were calculated annually and averaged over crop rotations to account for climate variability. A sensitivity analysis of row pitch, height, orientation, and system type illustrated parameter–performance relationships beyond GA outputs.</p>
<p>National agrivoltaic guidelines were also considered. Sweden limits land occupation to 10% for subsidy eligibility, Germany requires crop yields above 66 % and land loss below 15 %, and Italy imposes multiple criteria, including less than 30% land use, over 60% PV yield, and panel heights above 2.1 m.</p>
<p>The analysis showed that row pitch is the most critical design parameter, strongly influencing shading, crop productivity, and year-to-year yield variability, while orientation and height had moderate effects. In the baseline crop model, pitches above 7 m frequently breached yield and coverage constraints, whereas pitches exceeding 10 m reduced land-use efficiency and energy output per hectare.</p>
<p>A 5–10 m row pitch provided the best balance, supporting high PV density and energy output while maintaining sufficient sunlight for crops to maximize total LER. Narrower pitches boosted PV yield but caused excessive shading, while wider pitches reduced shading but left unused land, lowering overall efficiency.</p>
<p>Energy-focused designs in Sweden were found to reduce evapotranspiration and increase PV output but limite crop yield, with water use positively correlated with yield and negatively with PV performance. Outcomes depended more on constraint type than strictness, with one-axis and overhead systems often meeting yield thresholds under different scenarios.</p>
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<p>“Overall, these results provide quantitative design guidance under specific assumptions on feasible agrivoltaic configurations and show that policy design critically shapes the viable envelope: overly rigid compound constraints can eliminate solutions, while well-targeted, evidence-based rules leave room for context-sensitive optimization,” the academics concluded.</p>
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<p>Their findings were presented in “<span class="title-text"><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652625026320#fig3" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Optimisation of agrivoltaic systems within the water-energy-food nexus</a>,” published in the <em>Journal of Cleaner Production</em>. </span></p>
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