Geospatial assessment of agrivoltaic feasibility in the Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

This work investigates the feasibility of deploying agrivoltaic (AgriPV) systems in the Iberian Peninsula through an integrated geospatial assessment framework. The proposed methodology combines geospatial screening, agroclimatic and spatial datasets, crop suitability assessment, AgriPV configuration selection, and simplified energy-yield estimation. Site feasibility is evaluated under climatic, soil, topographic, land-use, regulatory, and infrastructural constraints. A crop suitability algorithm is implemented to assess the compatibility between local agroclimatic conditions and crop requirements, producing dimensionless suitability scores and supporting crop prioritisation. Based on crop characteristics and shading tolerance, the framework recommends appropriate photovoltaic (PV) system configurations and technologies. Energy production is estimated using a simplified analytical approach for bifacial PV modules in both overhead and vertical AgriPV layouts, enabling the comparative assessment of alternative system configurations. The framework is applied to three case studies, two in Portugal and one in Spain, demonstrating its ability to identify suitable crops and estimate energy yields under different agroclimatic contexts. The Portuguese case studies show strong agreement between modelled crop suitability and observed agricultural practices, while the application to an existing Spanish AgriPV pilot provides a qualitative consistency check under data-limited conditions. The results highlight key trade-offs associated with crop selection, system configuration, land use, and energy production. Overall, the proposed framework provides a practical tool for comparing AgriPV system configurations and supporting early-stage design and planning.