Planning an agrivoltaic plant in Southern Portugal

In recent years the installation of photovoltaic (PV) systems in Portugal has increased steeply, and it is expected that this trend will continue. The spread of large PV power stations in rural areas is beginning to raise concerns related to land use competition and visual impacts. The shared land use between agriculture and energy production offered by agrivoltaics is a promising way to address these concerns. We present here a study for the installation of an agrivoltaic pilot plant in the region of Alentejo, Portugal. Alentejo is one of the regions in Europe with the greatest photovoltaic potential, also it is a region with a very significant agricultural activity, being therefore particularly suitable for agrivoltaic projects. Based on the analysis of the installation site’s climate and soil conditions, the most suitable crops are identified and the agrivoltaic configuration is selected. Considering an overhead PV system with 60 kWp, the annual energy production is estimated for four different scenarios. The expected impacts on crop productivity are also discussed.