Ductile, model-based feasibility assessment for non-irrigated agrivoltaic systems

Climate change is already affecting every region across the globe, increasing the risk of conflicts for natural resources. Energy and food systems are striving to meet their rising demands without exceeding planetary boundaries. Ex-ploring the interconnections between these sectors in a Water, Energy, Food (WEF) Nexus framework, can help in relaxing land use constraints and mitigating water scarcity issues, enhancing sustainability in a holistic approach. This work analyses the role of agrivoltaic in non-irrigated areas, to promote an effective coexistence of crops and photovoltaic systems. To this end, a geo-spatial analysis is performed to investigate the current ground-mounted PV power plant land use. After that, a crop- and site-specific modelling is developed to study agriculture potentiality in a context with reduced solar irradiation availability. Results show a high potentiality for agrivoltaic implementation in non-irrigated areas, with a reduction in evapotranspiration water needs. Several crops present satisfying yields under agrivoltaic configuration, sometimes with productions even higher than traditional farming. This work delivers pilot examples of feasible rainfed agrivoltaic implementations, with the aim of supporting decision-making processes to promote sustainable development.