Doomed in the agrivoltaic campaign? The case of Chinese smallholder agriculture in the deployment of agrivoltaic projects

Abstract

The contemporary global campaign for low-carbon transition has positioned the countryside and agriculture as central sites for renewable energy production. However, the impact on smallholder agriculture and smallholders within this grand initiative remains an underexplored yet critical question. This study examines agrivoltaics—a model combining solar photovoltaic systems with agriculture—to explore its implications for smallholder agriculture and smallholders. Focusing on China and utilizing data from multiple case studies and secondary sources including information on over four hundred of agrivoltaic projects, this research reveals that the predominant large-scale, exogenous approach to agrivoltaic deployment significantly threatens smallholder agriculture and the livelihoods of smallholders. The findings indicate that over 80 % of agrivoltaic projects involve investments exceeding RMB 100 million; over 90 % of the projects occupy >10 ha of land; and nearly 90 % are led by energy-related corporations. Multiple cases show that these projects often result in land appropriation from smallholders, transforming small-scale farms into large-scale, capital-intensive plantations. Smallholders face multidimensional exclusions and encounter various barriers to meaningful participation in agrivoltaic projects. The current agrivoltaic projects in China exacerbate the marginalization of smallholders and their agricultural practices and local governmental regime primarily accounts for these impacts. It advocates for an endogeneity-oriented approach in designing and implementing agrivoltaic models, ensuring that energy sustainability does not jeopardize the socio-economic sustainability of rural communities.