Agrivoltaics: Technical, Ecological, Commercial and Legal Aspects

Agrivoltaics, also called agricultural-photovoltaics (Agri-PV or APV), integrates solar power generation into an agricultural activity on farmland.

The PV modules not only generate clean energy, but also shield crops from intense sun, drought or wind erosion. The market potential in EU-27, UK, and Switzerland alone is estimated to be 968 GWp if only 1 % of the utilized agricultural area is used for Agri-PV. Interest is swiftly growing amongst scientists, policy makers, and within the farming and energy industries. The challenges lie in the construction of the PV system, choice and ecology of crops, and sowing and harvesting techniques.

Agrivoltaics: Technical, ecological, commercial and legal aspects provides an overview of agrivoltaics, covering existing technical solutions both on system level as well as on the module level. Chapters cover the principles and definition, technological aspects of the PV and the agricultural system, yield prediction, light management, operations and management, ecological and social aspects, commercial, and legal considerations. Legal frameworks in different countries are explained. A short outlook describes how the future of Agri-PV could develop.

The book provides systematic coverage of this emerging topic for researchers, scientists, and engineers involved with PV, farmers, decision makers in PV and agricultural sector, as well as policy makers.

Constantin Klyk is a proficient independent consultant and expert specializing in Agrivoltaic Systems. He acquired extensive experience as a project manager for Agri-PV at Zimmermann PV-Steel Group in Germany, where he crafted intricate solutions for this emerging field. Prior to this role, he contributed to research endeavours at ISC Konstanz, focusing on PV system design and pioneering research initiatives in Agri-PV. Additionally, he has played integral roles in numerous international development projects as a PV engineer and project manager.

Stephan Schindele is the head of product management Agri-PV at BayWa r.e, Germany. In this function he supports global Agri-PV project development and implementation of BayWa r.e. and leverages synergies of the agricultural and energy industry. Between 2011 and 2020 Stephan built up the new business field of Agri-PV at Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, where he worked as a PhD student and project manager. He received several awards for his work.