Introduction: Transitioning to green energy for a greener environment requires moving away from fossil fuels. Agrivoltaics seems like a promising solution for a sustainable transition, aligning with current energy and environmental trends to reduce carbon emissions. Agrivoltaics has gained significant momentum in recent years. Agrivoltaics is the concept of dual use of the same land: solar panels generate solar energy on the agricultural land, and crops are cultivated beneath them. This generates two sources of income for the farmers. This concept is being widely welcomed across the world. It is a novel approach to addressing the severe challenges posed by climate change.
Methods: This study aimed to obtain solutions to enhance agrivoltaics resilience through a satellite monitoring system. With current technological advancements, we have a range of tools and platforms to detect issues in the agrivoltaics system, including crop health, soil fertility, and atmospheric conditions. All these can be identified at the early stages and trying to resolve these issues through various measures may help to increase yield. Through traceability solutions, it helps determine the flow of energy and farm products across the supply chains. In addition, fleet management system tools help optimize the performance of agricultural and energy equipment. Above all, carbon impacts and carbon footprinting can be monitored more frequently to reduce the levels of carbon before it enters the atmosphere. With these support systems in place, installing solar panels on agricultural land could drive a more sustainable transition in the energy industry. Agrivoltaics can be considered a tool for resilience in climate transition, thereby advancing a sustainable transition.
Results: Power and energy yield help determine the efficiency of agricultural field output. This depends on the placement of different panels in the agricultural field. Crop yields are also significantly determined by the transparency of the lighting rays through panels placed in the field. Additionally, agrivoltaics strongly supports rural electrification in developing nations, where agriculture is the main source of income. With proper government support and subsidies, the agricultural sector could be covered with solar panels. There is another major benefit to the agricultural sector: water conservation through refined irrigation practices, achieved by installing solar panels above the crops. This significantly helps in water conservation. Pesticide use can be reduced by adopting agrivoltaics in the field, thereby improving crop quality. This parallel even helps in reducing groundwater contamination. Hence, Agrivoltaics can drive ecological and sustainable power transitions without compromising agricultural productivity and solar energy generation.
Conclusion: Agrivoltaics appears to be a promising solution for addressing the challenges we face in the food, water, and energy sectors. But the success rate also depends on the regional supportiveness for solar radiation availability and crop suitability. The concept of agrivoltaics enhances land-use efficiency and modifies the microclimate by reducing soil and air temperatures in the surrounding area. The major benefits of generating solar energy in reducing greenhouse gas emissions are achieved in parallel with crop cultivation. Hence, supporting the sustainable energy transition.
