Agrivoltaics is a buzzword in renewable energy, and the practice is intended to boost agricultural efficiency.
However, a trial in New York State indicated late-season compromises for plants that need lots of light to build biomass.
Solar arrays have been shown to reduce photosynthetically active solar radiation by 24 percent in late fall. This study revealed that many root and leaf vegetables ended the season being only just over half their expected size. How did agrivoltaics fail?
How the impact of solar panels on crop yields was measured
The location of the agrivoltaic field study was a solar-plus-vegetable farm near Albany, New York. It is owned and operated by Greenbacker, a renewable energy firm.
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell University sent a research team to evaluate crops planted in the 20-foot spaces between the photovoltaic panels. Crop development was monitored over the 2024 fall growing season, with tracking covering planting to harvest.
Several commercial vegetables were focused on during the experiment. Control plots under full sunlight were measured to compare the test plot results with.
Crops that grow in cooler seasons often have a higher tolerance for partial shade in the sunnier months, but the late fall trials delivered different results.
Compared to the control crops, radicchio and radishes among the solar arrays showed major reductions in biomass.
When harvesting came around, radish total dry biomass was 46 percent lower under reduced solar radiation in the agrivoltaic treatment compared to the control. For radicchio, the heads were smaller and the leaf clusters were a lot less dense, with total dry biomass reduced by 49 percent.”
Crop maturation was delayed, and the overall sellable weight was reduced.
Solar panels and their effects on microclimates
The researchers did not stop at light measurement. They also considered microclimate variables as well, across the shaded and unshaded plots.
Sensors were deployed around the site to record levels of soil moisture, ground temperature, and humidity under the elevated panels.
The primary microclimatic driver in the agrivoltaic treatment was a 24 percent reduction in total irradiance compared to the control. Drip irrigation maintained consistent seasonal mean soil moisture levels across both treatments.
While air temperatures showed no significant treatment differences, leaf temperatures under the solar arrays were cooler—dropping by 2.3°C for radish and 2.9°C for radicchio. The suppressed crop productivity was driven by light limitation, which the cooler leaf temperatures were unable to offset.
In summer, the effects can be beneficial, like reducing heat stress and conserving irrigation.
It is the reverse during the cooler fall growing period, when there is no advantage to lower soil temperatures.
Vegetable crop growth correlated most strongly with total available photosynthetically active radiation rather than soil moisture retention or overall crop canopy temperature monitoring readings.
Seasonal solar angles and panel geometry
The 24 percent reduction in fall light resulted directly from the geometric interaction between seasonal solar angles and panel placement at New York’s northern latitude.
As the season progresses, the sun drops lower relative to the southern horizon, changing the incidence angle of incoming sunlight.
The experiment was conducted within an energy-focused, single-axis tracking photovoltaic array. Although the panels actively tracked the sun with a tilt range of up to 60 degrees, the physical presence and motion of the array still led to a 24 percent reduction in total irradiance over the underlying crop beds during the fall growing season.
Because the sun sits lower in the sky in fall, overhead array structures physically block a much larger fraction of direct solar rays from reaching the ground.
A 24 percent loss of radiation means a limited energy intake
This physical obstruction deprived the underlying crop canopy of 24 percent of total photosynthetically active radiation over the fall growing cycle, directly limiting energy intake for radishes and radicchio.
The research team concluded that successful agrivoltaic integration requires aligning crop selection with seasonal light availability and site infrastructure.
While solar arrays protect summer crops from heat stress, fixed panel shading creates severe light deficits during fall.
Farm operators must select crops that tolerate shade or utilize dynamic tracking panel arrays to balance power generation with agricultural crop yield across changing seasonal weather cycles.
Aligning panel tilt and infrastructure design to local solar angles remains essential for dual-use farming.
The full study can be read here: Sturchio, M. A., Russell, D. F., Schmidt, J., Marschner, C., DiTomasso, A., Kim, J., & Grodsky, S. M. (2025). Environmental controls of suppressed fall crop productivity in an agrivoltaic solar array. Environmental Research: Food Systems, 2(3), 035004.
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