Agrivoltaics co-locates photovoltaic electricity production with agricultural production, but definitions and legal criteria vary by country. The figures below distinguish global model estimates, simulations, a Saudi field trial and farmer surveys rather than treating them as one deployment average.
Key Agrivoltaics Statistics
The most useful headline figures span suitability, productivity, water, electricity and participation:
- In a 2025 global study estimate, 22%–35% of rainfed harvested areas could maintain yields under agrivoltaics, depending on shading level.
- In the same 2025 global assessment, 13%–16% of existing ground-mounted photovoltaic installations were associated with cropland-to-noncropland transition.
- A 2011 global model predicted 35%–73% higher global land productivity for two agrivoltaic panel densities.
- A 2025 temperate-climate simulation found winter-wheat yields up to 31% higher with east-west wing checkerboard and dash-line designs than with the standard layout.
- The highest modeled land-equivalent ratio in that 2025 temperate study was 1.2 for sugar beet under a south-tilted standard design.
- A February–July 2026 pepper trial in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia, recorded a land-equivalent ratio of 1.75 under hyper-arid agrivoltaics.
- The Saudi agrivoltaic pepper system produced 44.1 tonnes per hectare of marketable fresh peppers during its 183-day growing season.
- The paired Saudi open-field control produced 48.6 tonnes per hectare during the same growing season.
- Seasonal irrigation was 1,053 millimeters under agrivoltaics in the Saudi pepper trial.
- The Saudi open-field control used 1,478 millimeters of seasonal irrigation.
- Agrivoltaics reduced seasonal irrigation by 28.7% versus the open-field control in that trial.
- The Saudi trial reported 4,250 cubic meters per hectare per season of water savings.
- Fresh-pepper water-use efficiency was 5.38 kilograms per cubic meter under agrivoltaics, compared with 4.22 kilograms per cubic meter for the control.
- The Saudi bifacial agrivoltaic array had 30 kilowatt-peak capacity.
- It generated 30,287 kilowatt-hours of AC electricity during the 183-day growing season.
- Mean PV performance ratio in the Saudi trial was 77.4%.
- 72.4% of 214 valid German farmer survey respondents were willing in principle to use agrivoltaics in February 2023.
- 25% of 177 South Carolina farmers surveyed in fall 2024 and spring 2025 were willing to lease land for agrivoltaics.
Contents
- Global agrivoltaics suitability and land-use trends
- Crop yield and land-equivalent productivity data
- Irrigation, water use and microclimate statistics
- Solar output, array design and performance
- Costs, farm income and adoption evidence
- Participation and farmer willingness statistics
Global Agrivoltaics Suitability and Land-Use Trends
The 2025 global assessment modeled 22 crop distributions at less than 10-kilometer spatial resolution. A crop pixel entered the model only when it contained at least 10 hectares of harvested area, so the results describe modeled suitability rather than a census of projects.
| Global measure | Result | Period and scope |
|---|---|---|
| Rainfed harvested area estimated to maintain yields | 22%–35% | 2025 study estimate; global |
| Ground-mounted PV linked to cropland-to-noncropland transition | 13%–16% | Current installations analyzed in 2025; global |
| Crop distributions modeled | 22 | 2025 study; global |
| Minimum harvested-area threshold | 10 hectares | 2025 model inclusion rule; per crop pixel |
The study’s yield-maintenance range depends on shading level and applies to rainfed harvested areas, not observed agrivoltaic deployment. Its land-transition range is also a model-based estimate rather than a direct count of every installation. Global Land-Water Competition and Synergy Between Solar Energy and Agriculture
An earlier 2011 modeling study predicted a 35%–73% increase in global land productivity for two panel densities. It used a commercial monocrystalline PV reference with 15% average conversion yield and described photosynthetic conversion efficiency as around 3%; these are historical model assumptions and biological context, not current field measurements. Combining solar photovoltaic panels and food crops for optimising land use: Towards new agrivoltaic schemes
Agrivoltaics Crop Yield and Land-Equivalent Productivity Data
Land-equivalent ratio, or LER, compares combined crop and electricity output with separate production. It is not interchangeable with crop yield, electricity yield or revenue.
The 2025 temperate-climate study evaluated nine agrivoltaic topologies formed from three orientations and three panel arrangements. Its maximum LER was 1.2, recorded for sugar beet under the south-tilted standard design, while winter-wheat yield increased by up to 31% under east-west wing checkerboard and dash-line designs versus the standard layout.
| Crop or result | Statistic | Evidence type and scope |
|---|---|---|
| Winter-wheat yield change | Up to 31% increase | 2025 temperate-climate simulation |
| Sugar-beet maximum LER | 1.2 | 2025 temperate-climate simulation |
| Saudi pepper LER | 1.75 | One 183-day season; Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia |
| Saudi agrivoltaic marketable pepper yield | 44.1 t/ha | February–July 2026 trial |
| Saudi open-field control yield | 48.6 t/ha | Same paired trial |
In the Saudi hyper-arid trial, agrivoltaic marketable pepper yield was 9.3% below the open-field control, yet the combined system produced an LER of 1.75. The result applies to one crop, site, season and full-irrigation treatment, not to peppers everywhere. Agrivoltaics improve energy-water and land use efficiency in hyper-arid regions
A vertical agrivoltaics optimization study summarized in the 2025 IEA PVPS report reported LER above 1.2 for the investigated crops and location. That result is location- and crop-specific, and the report summarizes rather than reproduces the full experiment. Dual Land Use for Agriculture and Solar Power Production: Overview and Performance of Agrivoltaic Systems
Agrivoltaics Irrigation, Water Use and Microclimate Statistics
The Al-Ahsa trial provides a paired comparison for one hyper-arid pepper system. Agrivoltaic irrigation totaled 1,053 millimeters, versus 1,478 millimeters for the open-field control during the February–July growing season.
- Seasonal irrigation reduction was 28.7% under agrivoltaics relative to the paired control.
- The treatment saved 4,250 cubic meters per hectare per season.
- Fresh-pepper water-use efficiency was 5.38 kilograms per cubic meter, compared with 4.22 kilograms per cubic meter in the open field.
- Water-use efficiency improved by 27.5% under agrivoltaics relative to the control.
Microclimate measurements moved in the direction expected from shading and shelter, but they remain site-specific observations:
- Mean subcanopy air temperature was 2.2°C lower than in the open-field comparison.
- Mean soil temperature was 3.0°C lower under the array.
- Relative humidity increased by 6.8 percentage points.
- Vapor-pressure deficit decreased by 0.82 kilopascals.
These water and microclimate measurements came from one drip-irrigated crop treatment and one growing season. They should not be read as regional irrigation averages or universal savings rates. Agrivoltaics improve energy-water and land use efficiency in hyper-arid regions
Agrivoltaics Solar Output, Array Design and System Performance
The Saudi bifacial array had 30 kilowatt-peak capacity and generated 30,287 kilowatt-hours of AC electricity during its 183-day growing season. Its seasonal specific energy yield was 1,010 kilowatt-hours per kilowatt-peak, and mean PV performance ratio was 77.4%.
| Solar-performance measure | Result | Period and comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Array capacity | 30 kWp | Saudi experimental array |
| AC generation | 30,287 kWh | 183-day growing season |
| Specific energy yield | 1,010 kWh/kWp | Same growing season |
| Mean performance ratio | 77.4% | Same growing season |
| Bifacial energy gain | 9.8% | Versus monofacial bare-soil reference |
The 9.8% bifacial energy gain was measured against the study’s monofacial bare-soil reference configuration, not every possible monofacial agrivoltaic design. The output figures are seasonal observations rather than annual generation.
The 2025 temperate simulation found that half-density south-tilted, east-west vertical and east-west wing designs increased modeled specific energy by 2.5%, 4.2% and 2.3%, respectively, versus their corresponding standard layouts. South-tilted systems produced modeled specific energy 25% higher than east-west vertical systems and 19.3% higher than east-west wing systems under that study’s assumptions. Evaluating the influence of different agrivoltaic topologies on PV energy, crop yields and land productivity in a temperate climate
The IEA PVPS agrivoltaics task listed 14 participating national or institutional members in its 2025 report, including the United States, Germany, France and Japan. This is a program participation count, not a measure of global installed capacity. Dual Land Use for Agriculture and Solar Power Production: Overview and Performance of Agrivoltaic Systems
Agrivoltaics Costs, Farm Income and Adoption Evidence
The supplied studies do not provide a single comparable cost, farm-income or payback figure. The IEA PVPS review emphasizes that agrivoltaic cost and performance vary with system type, crop, climate, array density, height, grid connection and farm practices, so a cost number from one configuration should not be generalized to another.
Adoption evidence is therefore best read through willingness surveys rather than installed-capacity totals. Survey percentages measure stated willingness or perceptions, not realized adoption, and the German sample was non-random.
| Survey measure | Result | Population and period |
|---|---|---|
| Willing in principle to use agrivoltaics | 72.4% | 214 valid German respondents; February 2023 |
| Willing to lease land | 25% | 177 South Carolina farmers; fall 2024–spring 2025 |
| Indifferent about leasing land | 25% | Same South Carolina survey |
The German survey retained 214 valid respondents after exclusions and reported a 66.7% completion rate. Its willingness result does not represent all German farms. Factors influencing the willingness to use agrivoltaics: A quantitative study among German farmers
In South Carolina, willingness to lease land was recorded in a state-specific survey rather than an adoption registry. The study’s regional sample may not represent the wider U.S. population. Are farmers willing to lease land for agrivoltaics? The role of information
Agrivoltaics Participation and Farmer Willingness Statistics
The South Carolina survey also tested whether additional information changed lease willingness. The estimated likelihood of willingness increased by 4.1 percentage points after the information treatment, but the result identifies an effect within this sample rather than a universal response.
Among the additional-information group, the five lease-willingness categories ran from very unlikely to very likely and had response shares of 28%, 16%, 29%, 14% and 12%, respectively. The treatment reduced the probability of a very-unlikely response by 6.85 percentage points, increased a likely response by 2 percentage points and increased a very-likely response by 4.1 percentage points.
Concern responses among South Carolina farmers who were unlikely to lease included the following:
- 50% cited concern about damage to their land; the denominator was the 88 very-unlikely or unlikely respondents.
- 33% said they did not want people on their land.
- 28% cited yield-reduction risk, and another 28% selected another reason; these were separate multiple-response categories and should not be summed.
Experience also mattered in the study’s model. Farmers with 5–10 years of experience were 12.5 percentage points more likely to choose very likely to lease than the reference group, while those with more than 10 years were 10.3 percentage points more likely to choose that response. Are farmers willing to lease land for agrivoltaics? The role of information