Equity and Justice Implications for the Development and Deployment of Agrivoltaics Systems

This paper addresses the equity and justice issues that are directly related to agrivoltaics, largely through the lens of farmers and other rural stakeholders, but also to some extent through the eyes of commercial developers. Though clearly different in nature, both small-scale and utility-scale projects must address the equity and justice concerns of stakeholder communities in order to be successful. Further, while the ideas and principles discussed here are mostly U.S.-centric, they still apply to similar settings around the globe. The paper first reviews the concept of energy justice, drawing a distinction between justice and equity. It then moves on to the ways in which equity and justice are more specifically realized in agrivoltaics applications. Some of the main equity and justice issues are identified, particularly as they constitute barriers (real or perceived) that detract from more rapid adoption and deployment of agrivoltaics technology. In addition, the paper considers the differences in equity and justice associated with non-rural agrivoltaics applications; and it concludes with some general principles that should be followed to ensure the development and deployment of this emerging technology achieves overall success.