Navigating social acceptability and regulatory frameworks for a successful implementation of agrivoltaics

During times of environmental and political crises, there is a necessity for research into solutions for a sustainable land use that can secure both food and energy supply. It is crucial to adopt an integrated perspective on the dissemination of new technologies as potential solutions and the perception thereof by affected actors. As an example, for a technology at the interplay between agriculture and renewable energy, we present results from two studies on agrivoltaics (AV) for an overview on drivers and barriers of AV diffusion focusing on social acceptability and the regulatory framework. AV integrate agricultural production with photovoltaic energy production in a dual land use, bearing the potential to additionally contribute to ecosystem preservation, food security, and climate change mitigation. AV implementation does not only depend on technical feasibility, social acceptability of affected stakeholders and legal frameworks must be considered as well. Utilizing qualitative interviews in Germany, we examined farmers', policymakers', and administrative stakeholders' perceptions of AV and the conditions under which these stakeholders would adopt or support AV. Key findings indicate that farmers' willingness to adopt AV depends on the economic viability and sustainability of projects, with a preference for implementing AV on less valuable soils. From a farmer’s perspective community engagement and local benefits are vital for acceptance, while concerns about landscape aesthetics, legal complexities, and policy frameworks pose barriers. Administrative stakeholders highlight the need for AV to align with agricultural preservation, community welfare, and landscape integrity, emphasizing the use of lowervalue lands and efficient energy grid integration. Nature conservation stakeholders are generally in favor of renewable energy but opposed to the other stakeholder groups prefer AV implementation on already intensively used agricultural land. Addressing these stakeholder perceptions could make AV a socially sustainable farming practice, enhancing social equity and economic resilience in rural areas. As Germany is at the beginning of implementing AV and creating the respective regulatory environment, it is crucial to consider how Germany, but also other countries deal with a dual land use using AV. From a second study on regulative frameworks in Germany and Europe we present legal approaches to meet the identified barriers and expressed expectations from Agri-PV implementations in the first study. From the combination of both studies conclusions on removal of barriers are drawn. An outlook on the recommendation from European Commission will be given as well.