Design and Methodology for an Agrovoltaic Pilot Project in the Alentejo Region

This paper presents a study for an agrivoltaic pilot project in the Alentejo region, aimed at identifying the average percentage increase in efficiency between different types of photovoltaic panels (monofacial and bifacial modules) due to cooling effects from shading, when installed over monoculture rotations and intercropping systems with crops that benefit from Shade Avoidance Syndrome (SAS). The study will utilize the existing photovoltaic installations at the Renewable Energies Chair (CER) on the Mitra campus of the University of Évora, located in Nossa Sra. da Tourega, Évora municipality. Strategies were developed to integrate agricultural production with the existing photovoltaic system in two zones: the control zone (corridors distributed between the rows of solar panels) and the reference zone (unaffected by the operational aspects of the solar power plant). Two cropping configurations are proposed, both implemented simultaneously and in duplicate across the control and reference zones, over a two-year cycle. In the first year, monoculture rotation of tomato and lettuce will be carried out; in the second year, the crops will be intercropped. In addition to monitoring climate parameters between the zones, the study aims to conduct a comparative analysis of the biomass yield from each crop configuration in both zones.