Feasibility of AgriVoltaic Wheat Farming with Standard-Height, Utility-Scale Tracking Systems

This research focuses on AgriVoltaic systems, combining standard-height (1.5 meters) PV arrays with single-axis solar trackers for wheat cultivation. The study was conducted in Sorocaba/São Paulo, at the Nextracker Solar Study Laboratory situated at Flextronics Institute of Technology (FIT). This s...

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Main Authors: Milena Chanes de Souza, Ricardo Nery de Castro, Benhur Azambuja Possato, Matthias B. Krause, Sol Hutson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: TIB Open Publishing 2025-05-01
Series:AgriVoltaics Conference Proceedings
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tib-op.org/ojs/index.php/agripv/article/view/1355
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author Milena Chanes de Souza
Ricardo Nery de Castro
Benhur Azambuja Possato
Matthias B. Krause
Sol Hutson
author_facet Milena Chanes de Souza
Ricardo Nery de Castro
Benhur Azambuja Possato
Matthias B. Krause
Sol Hutson
author_sort Milena Chanes de Souza
collection DOAJ
description This research focuses on AgriVoltaic systems, combining standard-height (1.5 meters) PV arrays with single-axis solar trackers for wheat cultivation. The study was conducted in Sorocaba/São Paulo, at the Nextracker Solar Study Laboratory situated at Flextronics Institute of Technology (FIT). This study reveals that wheat production between PV rows is minimally affected by shading. In the 2023 winter wheat season in Brazil, the production in Regular Agriculture was 12.04 ± 4.27 tons/ha. In the AgriVoltaics area, it produced 10.72 ± 1.52 tons/ha of wheat in addition to 2354.82kWh/kWp-year. In the area dedicated to energy production, it generated a performance of 2462.26kWh/kWp-year. Statistically, using the Tukey’s test, it is possible to state that there is no difference in productivity, although there are differences in morphological and physiological performance, issues that should be better explored in future studies. Furthermore, AgriVoltaics systems observed a 40% reduction in irrigation requirements, making it economically feasible for both energy providers and local farming economies. So, this study demonstrates successful integration of cost-effective PV trackers, offering potential for large-scale co-production of food and renewable energy.
format Article
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issn 2751-6172
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher TIB Open Publishing
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series AgriVoltaics Conference Proceedings
spelling doaj-art-bd08791f7f1d4601817a17bf8a18f3352025-08-20T02:16:44ZengTIB Open PublishingAgriVoltaics Conference Proceedings2751-61722025-05-01310.52825/agripv.v3i.1355Feasibility of AgriVoltaic Wheat Farming with Standard-Height, Utility-Scale Tracking SystemsMilena Chanes de Souza0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2730-1463Ricardo Nery de Castro1https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5002-5947Benhur Azambuja Possato2https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0247-9316Matthias B. Krause3Sol Hutson4Flextronics Institute of Technology (FIT)Flextronics Institute of Technology (FIT)Flextronics Institute of Technology (FIT)NextrackerNextracker This research focuses on AgriVoltaic systems, combining standard-height (1.5 meters) PV arrays with single-axis solar trackers for wheat cultivation. The study was conducted in Sorocaba/São Paulo, at the Nextracker Solar Study Laboratory situated at Flextronics Institute of Technology (FIT). This study reveals that wheat production between PV rows is minimally affected by shading. In the 2023 winter wheat season in Brazil, the production in Regular Agriculture was 12.04 ± 4.27 tons/ha. In the AgriVoltaics area, it produced 10.72 ± 1.52 tons/ha of wheat in addition to 2354.82kWh/kWp-year. In the area dedicated to energy production, it generated a performance of 2462.26kWh/kWp-year. Statistically, using the Tukey’s test, it is possible to state that there is no difference in productivity, although there are differences in morphological and physiological performance, issues that should be better explored in future studies. Furthermore, AgriVoltaics systems observed a 40% reduction in irrigation requirements, making it economically feasible for both energy providers and local farming economies. So, this study demonstrates successful integration of cost-effective PV trackers, offering potential for large-scale co-production of food and renewable energy. https://www.tib-op.org/ojs/index.php/agripv/article/view/1355Wheat FarmingAgriVoltaicsProductivity Comparison
spellingShingle Milena Chanes de Souza
Ricardo Nery de Castro
Benhur Azambuja Possato
Matthias B. Krause
Sol Hutson
Feasibility of AgriVoltaic Wheat Farming with Standard-Height, Utility-Scale Tracking Systems
AgriVoltaics Conference Proceedings
Wheat Farming
AgriVoltaics
Productivity Comparison
title Feasibility of AgriVoltaic Wheat Farming with Standard-Height, Utility-Scale Tracking Systems
title_full Feasibility of AgriVoltaic Wheat Farming with Standard-Height, Utility-Scale Tracking Systems
title_fullStr Feasibility of AgriVoltaic Wheat Farming with Standard-Height, Utility-Scale Tracking Systems
title_full_unstemmed Feasibility of AgriVoltaic Wheat Farming with Standard-Height, Utility-Scale Tracking Systems
title_short Feasibility of AgriVoltaic Wheat Farming with Standard-Height, Utility-Scale Tracking Systems
title_sort feasibility of agrivoltaic wheat farming with standard height utility scale tracking systems
topic Wheat Farming
AgriVoltaics
Productivity Comparison
url https://www.tib-op.org/ojs/index.php/agripv/article/view/1355
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AT ricardonerydecastro feasibilityofagrivoltaicwheatfarmingwithstandardheightutilityscaletrackingsystems
AT benhurazambujapossato feasibilityofagrivoltaicwheatfarmingwithstandardheightutilityscaletrackingsystems
AT matthiasbkrause feasibilityofagrivoltaicwheatfarmingwithstandardheightutilityscaletrackingsystems
AT solhutson feasibilityofagrivoltaicwheatfarmingwithstandardheightutilityscaletrackingsystems