A non-traditional Agrophotovoltaic installation and its impact on cereal crops: A case of the BRRI-33 rice variety in Bangladesh

Traditional Agrophotovoltaic (APV) installation (i.e., basic row layout with minimum or no usage of the space underneath the solar PV panels) is responsible for a vast amount of agricultural land waste as no regular crops are grown under the shade of APV. Bangladesh is no exception to this trend. A primary in-person survey of about 50 solar irrigation pumps (SIPs), i.e., APVs, in Bangladesh, shows that on average, 13.77 decimal or 7,200 sq.ft. of land is used for each APV system installation. If 10,000 SIPs are installed by 2027 in Bangladesh, as targeted by the government through Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) by employing the same procedure, the land wastage would be 1,652 acres. Notably, this is a critical issue for a country like Bangladesh with a scarcity of agricultural lands. According to World Bank data, agricultural land in Bangladesh was about 80% in 1989 and reduced to 76% in 2020 due to population growth and urbanization. Therefore, to reduce agricultural land waste a non-traditional APV installation procedure, along with its shading impact on the BRRI-33 rice variety (a major crop in Bangladesh), has been investigated in this study. The results show that discontinuous sunlight has an insignificant impact on BRRI-33 rice production, and APV might be installed in the cultivating area for irrigation purposes. This non-traditional APV installation has a statistically insignificant impact on rice yield. For instance, the 100 grains' yield variation was between 1.45 and 4.82%, which is insignificant. Additionally, the APV shade does not negatively impact soil pH level, and shadow helps keep the soil temperature low and ensures less irrigation. Hence, the proposed nontraditional APV installation could achieve sustainable agriculture and energy development through efficient land use at least in the case of the BRRI-33 rice variety.

Automated summary

Traditional agrophotovoltaic (APV) installations waste a significant amount of agricultural land by not allowing crops to be grown under the solar PV panels. A study conducted in Bangladesh shows that on average, each APV system installation occupies 13.77 decimal or 7,200 sq.ft. of land. If 10,000 APV systems are installed by 2027, the land wastage would amount to 1,652 acres. This poses a critical issue for Bangladesh, which already faces a scarcity of agricultural lands.