Spanish researchers have tested low-height agrivoltaic systems at three vineyards, demonstrating electricity generation with negligible impacts on grape production. The systems achieved land equivalent ratios of 1.16 to 1.53, highlighting their potential to improve land-use efficiency.
A research team in Spain has experimentally investigated the integration of low-height photovoltaic systems into vineyards.
They explained that low-height agrivoltaic systems could offer several advantages over conventional elevated installations, particularly in vineyards where maintaining existing cultivation practices is essential. By positioning PV modules closer to the ground and integrating them between vine rows, these systems can reduce structural material requirements, installation costs and visual impact. They could also minimize interference with vineyard machinery and routine agricultural operations while limiting shading during critical stages of grape development.
The researchers installed and tested three agrivoltaic systems at commercial vineyards in southeastern Spain, assessing their agricultural performance during the 2024 harvest season and monitoring electricity generation over 14 months.
“This study presents the first field-scale validation of the vertical agrivoltaic design proposed by our group,” the researchers said. “The systems were designed with the primary aim of preserving the agronomic integrity of the vineyard, avoiding critical shading during sensitive periods, and maintaining the operational routines of viticulture. Energy production was considered secondary and constrained by agronomic and structural design.”
The researchers conducted the study at three commercial vineyards in southeastern Spain. At Bodegas San Isidro, they installed a 2.34 kW vertical bifacial PV system in rows oriented at −63°, using monocrystalline silicon modules measuring 0.6 m × 1.1 m. At Bodegas Carchelo, they deployed Venetian blind-style monofacial configurations with a combined capacity of 1.56 kWp in rows oriented at −8°, using modules measuring 0.3 m × 1.1 m. At Bodegas Evine, they installed a 2.4 kW vertical monofacial system in rows oriented at +8°, using modules measuring 0.6 m × 1.1 m.
During the 2024 harvest, the scientists compared grape performance in areas influenced by the PV modules with that of control areas without modules. For each replicate, they randomly selected 350 berries and assessed grape yield, sugar concentration, titratable acidity, pH, total anthocyanin content and total polyphenol index.
The team also monitored electricity generation at the inverter level over 14 months. It estimated annual electricity production per hectare and assessed land-use efficiency using the land equivalent ratio (LER), taking an optimized ground-mounted PV system as the reference.
“We demonstrate that meaningful energy production can be achieved under a cultivation-first design logic, resulting in LER consistently above unity with 1.16–1.53, thus confirming real land-use efficiency gains,” the researchers said.
They also identified opportunities to increase PV installation density in low-trained vineyards, potentially achieving capacities comparable to conventional ground-mounted PV systems without requiring additional land or interfering with agricultural activities. Under this scenario, the LER could reach 1.95.
The vertical bifacial system at Bodegas San Isidro achieved the highest estimated annual electricity production, at 555,905 kWh/ha, followed by the vertical monofacial system at Bodegas Evine, at 383,764 kWh/ha, and the Venetian blind-style system at Bodegas Carchelo, at 304,716 kWh/ha.
The researchers also proposed a structural design requiring between 141 kg and 161 kg of steel per kWp of installed capacity while maintaining adequate mechanical performance. They said the figures were at the lower end of reported steel requirements for agrivoltaic installations.
The findings are presented in the study “Low-height vertical photovoltaic integration in vineyards with negligible agronomic impact,” published in Renewable Energy Focus. The research team included scientists from Spain’s Polytechnic University of Cartagena and the Murcian Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research and Development (Imida).
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