Economic Feasibility Study of Agri-Photovoltaic System
Keywords:
Agri-Photovoltaic System (APV), Conventional PV System, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Optimal Design, Economic AnalysisAbstract
With increasing global interest in renewable energy and the persistent demand for food production, agri-photovoltaic (Agri-PV) systems offer a promising dual-use solution that integrates solar energy generation with agricultural land utilization. This study proposes a comprehensive design model for an Agri-PV system in the rural region of Al-Qurdaha, Latakia Governorate, using actual field data and the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. The objective is to maximize financial returns from electricity sales while maintaining agricultural productivity.
Two designs were evaluated: a ground-mounted PV system and an elevated system installed at 2.5 meters, allowing crop cultivation beneath the panels. Various PV modules and inverters were assessed to determine the optimal setup using PSO, with results compared to conventional tools such as SolarEdge Designer.
The MATLAB simulation results indicated that the ground-mounted system yields 17.4% higher financial returns compared to the elevated system when agricultural land investment is disregarded. However, when agricultural use of the land is taken into account, the total annual profit of the elevated system reached $24,224, compared to $19,200 for the ground-mounted system, representing a positive difference of 26.17%.
The findings highlight the value of integrating advanced engineering optimization with sustainable land management practices, promoting both economic efficiency and environmental resilience in rural energy-agriculture systems.
