Empowering farmers in Central Europe: the case for agri-PV

This report by Ember examines the potential for agrivoltaics (agri-PV)—the simultaneous use of land for solar electricity and food production—in Central Europe, specifically Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. It argues that agri-PV can enhance farmer profits, increase certain crop yields, and significantly boost renewable energy production without compromising food security.

• Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia have a combined agri-PV potential of 180 GW, which could generate 191 TWh of annual electricity. This is nearly three times the current combined renewable electricity generation of 73 TWh and represents 68% of the current total electricity demand in these four countries.
• Agri-PV can improve land use efficiency and crop yields depending on the plant type. For fruits and berries, yields can increase by up to 16% with land use efficiency reaching 178%. For less shade-tolerant crops like wheat, yields typically remain at 80% or more, and any losses are offset by electricity revenues.
• The financial returns from agri-PV significantly exceed those of traditional farming for certain crops. In Poland, annual revenues from one hectare of agri-PV are estimated at €20,000 to €26,000, compared to €1,700 from wheat alone. While traditional wheat production is estimated to generate net losses of €97 per hectare in 2024, combined electricity and wheat sales can yield an annual profit of €1,268 per hectare.
• Agri-PV offers systemic energy benefits by utilizing east-west orientations and vertical panels, which create a wider daily generation profile with lower midday peaks. This reduces solar curtailment, eases grid balancing, and increases capture prices compared to traditional south-facing solar farms.
• Regulatory frameworks are currently lacking in most of Central Europe, with Czechia being the only country in the region to have introduced agri-PV legislation as of May 2024. However, Czech legislation currently excludes systems placed between cereals or grasses, which the report states cuts the potential capacity by 96% and loses 21 TWh of electricity.
• Unlocking just 9% of the identified agri-PV potential in the four analyzed countries would be sufficient to cover the entire electricity needs of the farming and food processing sectors, which currently demand 17 TWh.

APA

Ember (2024). Empowering farmers in Central Europe: the case for agri-PV. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/empowering-farmers-in-central-europe-the-case-for-agri-pv

Chicago

Ember. Empowering farmers in Central Europe: the case for agri-PV. 2024. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/empowering-farmers-in-central-europe-the-case-for-agri-pv.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Empowering farmers in Central Europe: the case for agri-PV |date=29 August 2024 |url=https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/empowering-farmers-in-central-europe-the-case-for-agri-pv |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2024empowering, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Empowering farmers in Central Europe: the case for agri-PV}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2024}, month = aug, url = {https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/empowering-farmers-in-central-europe-the-case-for-agri-pv}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }