AGRIVOLTAIC DESIGN OPTIMIZATION: BALANCING STAKEHOLDER PREFERENCES
Agrivoltaic systems are a promising solution to address pressing global food and energy challenges by combining agriculture and solar photovoltaics. Government incentives are crucial to support the development of agrivoltaic systems, but appropriate regulations are lacking to define and guide their implementation, in part due to overly simplistic simulation tools used to guide policy decisions. Similarly, leading agrivoltaic optimization metrics overlook critical logistical factors, leading to potentially cost-prohibitive designs that do not prioritize stakeholder preferences. This paper presents the Comprehensive Agrivoltaic Simulation Tool (CAST) which is used to model the co-location suitability of agrivoltaic systems based on both ground-level radiation and shading conditions. CAST reveals that raising panel height may shift agricultural area underneath panels, contrary to farmers' preferences for between-row crop harvesting. To address this issue, we present a new optimization methodology that integrates both farmer and developer preferences. We recommend updating current regulations and future policy incentives to include logistical factors to achieve more viable agrivoltaic system designs.