Agrivoltaics Over Berries in Chile: Potential for Clean Energy Generation and Climate Change Adaption

Abstract

Agrivoltaics (AV), the concept of installing photovoltaic (PV) panels on agricultural land, enabling a dual use of the surface, has the potential to foster renewable energy expansion without land use conflict and to protect water from evapotranspiration. Although there is growing interest in AV, there has been no structured analysis of its potential for clean energy generation and climate change adaptation in Chile. In this paper, we provide the first national-level estimate of the AV potential over blueberries, using a combination of filtered geo-datasets and meteorological data to quantify PV yields and impact on evapotranspiration. We find a theoretical potential of 13.4 GWp for AV over blueberries, predominantly in the central and southern regions. The derived potential for AV could provide 22% of the current national electricity generation while lowering irrigation demand by nearly 18 million m³ per year. Finally, we identify about 8,000 GWh of current annual conventional electricity generation that could be regionally replaced by AV, showing the potential to contribute significantly to the decentralization and decarbonization of the Chilean electricity mix. Further research on the agronomic and economic aspects of AV implementation should be carried out to enable synergetic development.