A Comparative Analysis of Agrivoltaic Designs and their Impact on Grassland Growth Dynamics Across Three Locations in Europe

The global demand for food and energy is growing, and the competition for land is intensifying. A possible solution to this problem is the dual use of agricultural area, utilizing agrivoltaic systems. Agrivoltaic systems combine the agricultural food production and the generation of renewable energy simultaneously, thereby increasing the land use efficiency. Given the financial investment required for the construction of an agrivoltaic system, the systems must be well planned to ensure their successful implementation. This thesis aims to optimize and further develop agrivoltaic systems with a focus ongrasslands in Europe. The grassland growth dynamics are investigated by comparing three agrivoltaic system designs: vertical system, 1P tracking system, and 2P tracking system. The analysis focuses on three locations across Europe: Vastogirardi in Italy, Montlucon in France, and Magdeburg in Germany, plus four types of soils to investigate the importance of soil texture. The comparison is based on a modelling approach using the Hurley Pasture grassland model within the software Expert-N.
The findings show that grassland can tolerate shading rates up to 50%. Beyond this point, the yield reduction accelerates. The vertical system is the most suitable design in this comparison as it does not cause shading rates above 50%. Magdeburg is the most favorable location with the lowest yield reduction for all systems under comparison. Agrivoltaic systems seem to perform best under high radiation, cooler temperatures, and sufficient water availability. A sandy soil showed to benefit the most from the shading of the agrivoltaic system, causing the lowest reduction in yield. Additionally, the timing of shading needs to be considered, as shade in the morning reduces yield more than shade in the afternoon. The improved nutritional values of the harvested biomass suggest a partial compensation for the yield loss due to shading.