Wind sheltering in vertical agrivoltaics can increase crop yields: A modeling study for Northern Europe

Abstract

Vertical agrivoltaics can help reduce land use competition by integrating food crop cultivation between rows of vertical solar panels. However, its agricultural viability is often questioned due to panel shading. This study demonstrates that wind sheltering from vertical solar panels not only can compensate for the shading losses but lead to net-positive yield changes in Northern Europe. Crops benefit from wind shelter through improved soil moisture retention, higher ambient temperatures, and protection from wind erosion and damage. This study quantified the combined shading and wind sheltering effects on timothy grass (Phleum pratense L.) yields within large-scale vertical agrivoltaics across Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Our modeling framework integrated ERA5 weather data (2010–2023), Computational Fluid Dynamics for wind simulation (OpenFOAM), ray tracing for shading analysis (Honeybee Radiance), and a crop growth simulation model (CATIMO). Additionally, ERA5 temperature data was adjusted to explore shelter-induced warming effects. In the simulation, vertical agrivoltaics decreased ground irradiation by 15–16 % and reduced seasonal mean crop zone wind speeds by up to 40 % (up to 88 % for perpendicular winds), lowering evapotranspiration. When combining shading, wind reduction, and a conservative +0.5 °C shelter-induced temperature increase, the model predicted an average regional yield increase of +2.4 % compared to traditional agriculture. Yield improvements were highest in drought-prone soils (+3.7 %) and dry, sunny years (e.g., +9.2 % in 2018). This suggests that vertical agrivoltaics improves agricultural resilience under challenging conditions. These findings demonstrate that agrivoltaic modeling, particularly for vertical systems, should incorporate wind shelter effects to avoid fundamentally underestimating crop yield potential.