Towards a EU‐wide regulation for agrivoltaics—A comparative analysis of legal frameworks in Germany, France and Italy

Abstract To achieve the EU's targets for expanding renewable energies, it is necessary to use an increasing amount of land for the installation of solar panels. In regions where land is scarce, there is heightened pressure to transform agricultural land into industrial land for the installation of ground‐mounted photovoltaics. As a dual land‐use system, agrivoltaics has the potential to ease land use conflicts by co‐locating solar electricity generation with agricultural activity. However, to ensure synergetic land use, the regulation of agrivoltaics must ensure that the agricultural land in question retains its agricultural characteristics. As experiences, such as those in Taiwan, demonstrate, not only efficient land use but also societal and political acceptance are at stake. This study examines how regulatory frameworks for agrivoltaics in Germany, France and Italy balance electricity production and agricultural use, with the objective of identifying similarities, differences and potential for harmonisation towards an EU‐wide approach. The three countries selected for the analysis are forerunners in national legislation on agrivoltaics, while differing considerably in their approaches towards regulating agrivoltaics. The comparative legal analysis reveals what lessons can be learned for the design of core criteria of regulation at the EU level and lays groundwork for a potential harmonised regulation of agrivoltaics. Based on the findings of the comparative analysis, we suggest harmonising criteria for agricultural production, area unusable for productive agriculture, spatial accessibility, spatial distribution and intensity of light, reversibility of the installation and their verification. Such harmonised criteria could be supplemented by optional requirements regarding water availability, soil health, microclimate and animal welfare.