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A Cost–Benefit Analysis for Utility-Scale Agrivoltaic Implementation in Italy

Author

Listed:
  • Girolamo Di Francia

    (ENEA—Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, P.le E. Fermi, 1, Portici, 80055 Napoli, Italy)

  • Paolo Cupo

    (Division of Agricultural Economics and Policy, Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, Portici, 80055 Napoli, Italy)

Abstract

Utility-scale photovoltaic plants can take up areas as wide as several tens of hectares, often occupying spaces normally used for other purposes. This “land competition” issue might become particularly relevant for agriculture since, similarly to the production of photovoltaic electricity, farming uses the sun as a primary energy source. Thus, there is increasing interest in investigating agrivoltaic plants that allow the coexistence of agricultural activity and the production of electricity from photovoltaics. Such solutions are more complex and expensive than standard ground-mounted photovoltaic plants, so it is questionable whether the economic revenues produced by the agrivoltaic choice and resulting from both the cropland activity and electricity production can compensate for the high costs involved. The problem is further complicated by the fact that both crop revenues and photoelectricity costs depend, in general, on the geographical location. In this study, a cost/benefit methodology was developed to investigate the conditions under which the installation of an agrivoltaic utility plant can be economically advantageous compared with a standard ground-mounted photovoltaic plant. The analysis relies on the evaluation of both the extra cost related to the agrivoltaic choice and the performance benefit related to the crop revenues. By fixing the capacity of PV utility plants to be installed in all Italian regions, results were validated, considering crops such as wheat, corn, soybean, potato, and sunflower that make use of wide areas. It was determined that the higher infrastructural costs of agrivoltaic plants seriously hamper their installation, even for high-revenue croplands, unless suitable supporting policies in the form of public subsidies are conceived. In this context, it would be useful to evaluate whether such financial aids conceived to support agrivoltaic implementation in productive agricultural areas could be better used to support agrivoltaic installations in croplands at risk of abandonment or even already abandoned croplands, recovering otherwise unproductive agricultural lands.

Suggested Citation

  • Girolamo Di Francia & Paolo Cupo, 2023. "A Cost–Benefit Analysis for Utility-Scale Agrivoltaic Implementation in Italy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-19, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:7:p:2991-:d:1106901
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Trommsdorff, Max & Kang, Jinsuk & Reise, Christian & Schindele, Stephan & Bopp, Georg & Ehmann, Andrea & Weselek, Axel & Högy, Petra & Obergfell, Tabea, 2021. "Combining food and energy production: Design of an agrivoltaic system applied in arable and vegetable farming in Germany," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    3. Agostini, A. & Colauzzi, M. & Amaducci, S., 2021. "Innovative agrivoltaic systems to produce sustainable energy: An economic and environmental assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
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