Implementation of agrophotovoltaics: Techno-economic analysis of the
price-performance ratio and its policy implications
Stephan Schindelea,⁎,1, Maximilian Trommsdorffa, Albert Schlaaka,1, Tabea Obergfella,
Georg Bopp
...
Implementation of agrophotovoltaics: Techno-economic analysis of the
price-performance ratio and its policy implications
Stephan Schindelea,⁎,1, Maximilian Trommsdorffa, Albert Schlaaka,1, Tabea Obergfella,
Georg Boppa, Christian Reisea, Christian Brauna, Axel Weselekb, Andrea Bauerlec, Petra Högyb,
Adolf Goetzbergera, Eicke Webera,2
a Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Heidenhofstraße 2, 79110 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
b Institute of Landscape and Plant Ecology, University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany
c Institute of Crop Science, University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany
H I G H L I G H T S
• Coverage of current agrophotovoltaic (APV) promotion policies in several countries. • Comparative cost of electricity evaluation of APV and ground-mounted photovoltaics. • Cost of APV implementation related to the economic benefit of obtaining cropland. • Price-performance ratio calculation applied to measure economic quality of APV projects. • Potato production under APV is economically beneficial, winter wheat production not.
A R T I C L E I N F O
Keywords:
Evidence-based policy making
Price-performance ratio
Levelized cost of electricity
Energy policies and technology assessment
Innovation and new development in energy
technology
Agrophotovoltaics/agrivoltaic
A B S T R A C T
Rising demand for solar power generation will lead to increased land use competition, and thus to potential
economic and social conflict. A solution to this challenge is to produce food and energy within an agrophotovoltaics
(APV) system. Since 2017, governments in Japan, France, Massachusetts (USA), South Korea, and China
have introduced policies supporting APV implementation. Governments considering APV implementation – e.g.
in India and Germany – for evidence-based policy making are demanding information on how levelized cost of
electricity (LCOE) of APV differs from that of conventional ground-mounted photovoltaics (PV), as well as on
how additional costs associated with APV installation relate to the benefit of maintaining agricultural activity
under APV. Data for a techno-economic price-performance ratio calculation has been retrieved from an interand
transdisciplinary APV case study in Germany. We observed that the LCOE of APV with €0.0828 kWh−1 is
38% higher than that of ground-mounted PV, resulting in an annual cropland preservation price of
€9,052 ha−1 a−1. The annual revenue of potato and winter wheat production under APV resulted in a performance
of €10,707 ha−1 a−1 and €1,959 ha−1 a−1 respectively, leading to a beneficial price-performance ratio of
0.85 for potato production and, with a ratio of 4.62, a disadvantageous result for winter wheat. Overall, APV is
not necessarily recommended in crop rotating systems. However, in combination with permanent cultures – e.g.
berries, fruits, or wine grapes – as the price for these types of applications is lower, while at the same time
providing higher performance by optimizing techno-ecological synergies.
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