The Agrivoltaic Potential of Canada

• Published in: Sustainability 2023-02, Vol.15 (4), p.3228
• Main Authors: Jamil, Uzair, Bonnington, Abigail, Pearce, Joshua M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural economics; Agricultural industry; Agricultural land; Agricultural production; Agricultural productivity; Agriculture; Agrivoltaics; Air pollution; Air quality management; Alternative energy sources; Arrays; Capital assets; Clean energy; Climate change; Crop yields; Crops; Digital currencies; Efficiency; Electric vehicles; Electricity; Electricity generation; Emissions; Energy minerals; Environmental aspects; Farmers; Farms; Food; Fossil fuels; Geographic information systems; Greenhouse effect; Greenhouse gases; Greenhouses; Hydrogen as fuel; Land use; Payback periods; Photovoltaic cells; Photovoltaics; Production increases; Soil erosion; Solar energy; Solar energy industry; Solar energy research; Sustainability; Systems analysis; Traditional farming
• ISSN: 2071-1050; 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su15043228

Canada has committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by increasing the non-emitting share of electricity generation to 90% by 2030. As solar energy costs have plummeted, agrivoltaics (the co-development of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and agriculture) provide an economic path to these goals. This study quantifies agrivoltaic potential in Canada by province using geographical information system analysis of agricultural areas and numerical simulations. The systems modeled would enable the conventional farming of field crops to continue (and potentially increase yield) by using bifacial PV for single-axis tracking and vertical system configurations. Between a quarter (vertical) and more than one third (single-axis tracking) of Canada’s electrical energy needs can be provided solely by agrivoltaics using only 1% of current agricultural lands. These results show that agrivoltaics could be a major contributor to sustainable electricity generation and provide Canada with the ability to render the power generation sector net zero/GHG emission free. It is clear that the potential of agrivoltaic-based solar energy production in Canada far outstrips current electric demand and can, thus, be used to electrify and decarbonize transportation and heating, expand economic opportunities by powering the burgeoning computing sector, and export green electricity to the U.S. to help eliminate their dependence on fossil fuels.