Techno-economic Assessment of Urban Agrivoltaic System

Agrivoltaic systems (AVS) offer a promising approach to optimizing land use by combining food production and solar energy generation in urban settings. This study presents a techno-economic assessment of two AVS configurations at Portland State University: a ground-mounted open-field system (GM) and a rooftop-mounted greenhouse system (RM). Both systems integrate semi-transparent photovoltaic modules, rainwater harvesting, and lettuce cultivation. The analysis covers 30 years, evaluating energy production, crop yield, water use, and economic performance. Solar output was modeled using HelioScope and the System Advisor Model, while AquaCrop and the FEMP calculator were used to simulate crop productivity and rainwater harvesting. The RM system, operating six crop cycles per year, significantly outperformed the GM system, which was limited to two. The RM system produced 60.3 MWh per year, 285 tons per hectare of lettuce, and $12 per m<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> in revenue, compared to 30 tons per hectare and $0.81 per m<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> for the GM system. Rainwater harvesting in both systems met most irrigation demands, reducing dependence on municipal supply. While both systems were technically viable, the RM system demonstrated substantially higher performance and profitability. These findings highlight the potential of greenhouse-integrated AVS as a sustainable solution for urban food, energy, and water needs.