Theoretical, technical and economic potential of APV installations in West Pomeranian Voivodeship (Poland)
PDF

Keywords

agrophotovoltaics
bifacial panels
renewable energy
energy storage
green hydrogen
grid capacity
economic feasibility
West Pomeranian Voivodeship

How to Cite

Widera, K. (2026) “Theoretical, technical and economic potential of APV installations in West Pomeranian Voivodeship (Poland)”, Economics and Environment, 96(1), p. 1209. doi:10.34659/eis.2026.96.1.1209.

Abstract

The aim of the article is to analyse the theoretical, technical, and economic potential of agrophotovoltaic (APV) installations in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship (Poland) based on climatic data, agricultural land resources, and technological simulations. The specific aim of the study was to determine the theoretical, geographical, technical and economic potential of APV installations in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship based on climate data, land-use structure and technological simulation results. The study shows that the annual energy production of the designed APV installation may reach 454–560 [MWh/ha], which, when using less than 1% of agricultural land, could fully meet the total electricity demand of farms in the analysed region. This indicates a high potential for integrating agriculture and energy production within the same area. The main limitation for the development of solar energy is the insufficient capacity of the existing power grid, which is not adapted to new renewable energy sources. The economic analysis confirms the profitability of APV investments in the context of rising energy prices and highlights their potential role in producing green hydrogen and supporting renewable energy development in Poland. The conclusions emphasise the need to modernise the energy infrastructure and introduce legislative changes to unlock the APV potential in Poland.

PDF

References

Amaducci, S., Yin, X., & Colauzzi, M. (2018). Agrivoltaic systems to optimise land use for electric energy production. Applied Energy, 220, 545–561. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.03.081

Bejm, M., Andruszkiewicz, M., Jaworecki, K., Głąbiński, B., & Bułkowska, E. (2025). CMS expert guide to agrivoltaics and floating photovoltaics in Poland. CMS Law. https://cms.law/en/int/expert-guides/cms-expert-guide-to-agrivoltaics-and-floating-photovoltaics/poland

Bellone, Y., Croci, M., Impollonia, G., Nik Zad, A., Colauzzi, M., Campana, P. E., & Amaducci, S. (2024). Simulation-based decision support for agrivoltaic systems. Applied Energy, 369, 123490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.123490

Bosman, L., Kádár, J., Yonnie, B., & LeGrande, A. (2024). How market transformation policies can support agrivoltaic adoption. Sustainability, 16(24), 11172. https://doi.org/10.3390/su162411172

Bukowski, M., Majewski, J., & Sobolewska, A. (2021). Macroeconomic efficiency of photovoltaic energy production in Polish farms. Energies, 14(18), 5721. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14185721

Campana, P. E., Stridh, B., Hörndahl, T., Svensson, S. E., Zainali, S., Ma, L., Zidane, T. E. K., De Luca, P., Amaducci, S., & Colauzzi, M. (2024). Experimental results, integrated model validation, and economic aspects of agrivoltaic systems at northern latitudes. Journal of Cleaner Production, 437, 140235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.140235

Dupraz, C., Marrou, H., Talbot, G., Dufour, L., Nogier, A., & Ferard, Y. (2011). Combining solar photovoltaic panels and food crops for optimising land use: Towards new agrivoltaic schemes. Renewable Energy, 36(10), 2725–2732. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2011.03.005

Elamri, Y., Cheviron, B., Lopez, J. M., Dejean, C., & Belaud, G. (2018). Water budget and crop modelling for agrivoltaic systems: Application to irrigated lettuces. Agricultural Water Management, 208, 440–453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2018.07.001

European Hydrogen Observatory. (2024). European hydrogen market landscape – November 2024. Publications Office of the European Union. https://observatory.clean-hydrogen.europa.eu/index.php/reports/european-hydrogen-market-landscape-november-2024

Fernández, E. F., Villar-Fernández, L., Montes-Romero, J., Ruiz-Torres, L., Rodrigo, P. M., Manzaneda, A. J., & Almonacid, F. (2022). Global energy assessment of the potential of photovoltaics for greenhouse farming. Applied Energy, 309, 118474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.118474

Garrod, A., Hussain, S. N., & Ghosh, A. (2024). The technical and economic potential for crop-based agrivoltaics in the United Kingdom. Solar Energy, 277, 112744. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2024.112744

Generalna Dyrekcja Dróg Krajowych i Autostrad. (n.d.). Informacje o autostradach, drogach ekspresowych, krajowych i wojewódzkich. https://www.gov.pl/web/gddkia (in Polish).

Gopala Krishnan, G., Molleti, G., Banerjee, B., & Ghosh, S. (2023). Exploring business models for agrivoltaics in India: Karnataka, a case study. Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy. https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep60773

Gorjian, S., Bousi, E., Özdemir, Ö. E., Trommsdorff, M., Kumar, N. M., Anand, A., Kant, K., & Chopra, S. S. (2022). Progress and challenges of crop production and electricity generation in agrivoltaic systems using semi-transparent photovoltaic technology. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 158, 112126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2022.112126

Hickey, T., Uchanski, M., & Bousselot, J. (2024). Vegetable crop growth under photovoltaic (PV) modules of varying transparencies. Heliyon, 10(16), e36058. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e36058

Huang, K., Shu, L., Li, K., Chen, Y., Zhu, Y., & Valluru, R. (2023). Sustainable and intelligent phytoprotection in photovoltaic agriculture: New challenges and opportunities. Electronics, 12(5), 1221. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics12051221

India Agrivoltaics Alliance. (2024). Business models for agrivoltaics in India: Analysis of various business models and their socio-economic impact. https://indiaagripv.org/assets/publications/Business%20Models%20for%20Agrivoltaics_webversion.pdf

Jamil, U., Hickey, T., & Pearce, J. M. (2024). Solar energy modelling and proposed crops for different types of agrivoltaics systems. Energy, 304, 132074. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2024.132074

Kallioğlu, M. A., Avcı, A. S., Sharma, A., Khargotra, R., & Singh, T. (2024). Solar collector tilt angle optimization for agrivoltaic systems. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering, 54, 103998. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csite.2024.103998

Katsikogiannis, O. A., Ziar, H., & Isabella, O. (2022). Integration of bifacial photovoltaics in agrivoltaic systems: A synergistic design approach. Applied Energy, 309, 118475. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.118475

Kocur-Bera, K. (2024). Regional interferences to photovoltaic development: A Polish perspective. Energies, 17(14), 3484. https://doi.org/10.3390/en17143484

Kryszk, H., Kurowska, K., Marks-Bielska, R., Bielski, S., & Eźlakowski, B. (2023). Barriers and prospects for the development of renewable energy sources in Poland during the energy crisis. Energies, 16(4), 1724. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16041724

Liu, W., Omer, A. A. A., & Li, M. (2023). Agrivoltaic: Challenge and progress. Agronomy, 13(7), 1934. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13071934

Marrou, H., Guilioni, L., Dufour, L., Dupraz, C., & Wery, J. (2013a). Microclimate under agrivoltaic systems: Is crop growth rate affected in the partial shade of solar panels? Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 177, 117–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2013.04.012

Marrou, H., Dufour, L., & Wery, J. (2013b). How does a shelter of solar panels influence water flows in a soil–crop system? European Journal of Agronomy, 50, 38–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2013.05.004

Matulić, D., Andabaka, Ž., Radman, S., Fruk, G., Leto, J., Rošin, J., Rastija, M., Varga, I., Tomljanovic, T., Ceprnja, H. & Karoglan, M. (2023). Agrivoltaics and aquavoltaics: Potential of solar energy use in agriculture and freshwater aquaculture in Croatia. Agriculture, 13(7), 1447. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13071447

Ministry of Infrastructure of the Republic of Poland. (2022). Data on county and municipal road networks, investments under the Government Road Development Fund. https://www.gov.pl/web/infrastruktura (in Polish).

Moradi, K., Jafari, F., Moghaddam, F., & Shafiee, Q. (2024). Modeling of photovoltaic-thermal systems using multivariate polynomial regression. IFAC-PapersOnLine, 58(2), 136–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2024.07.104

Mouhib, E., Fernández-Solas, A., Pérez-Higueras, P. J., Fernández-Ocaña, A. M., Micheli, L., Almonacid, F., & Fernández, E. F. (2024). Enhancing land use: Integrating bifacial PV and olive trees in agrivoltaic systems. Applied Energy, 359, 122660. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.122660

Nakata, H., & Ogata, S. (2023). Integrating agrivoltaic systems into local industries: A case study and economic analysis of rural Japan. Agronomy, 13(2), 513. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13020513

OnGeo. (2022). Spatial GIS analysis for identifying sites for photovoltaic farms in Poland. https://www.ongeo.pl

Główny Urząd Statystyczny. (2021). Powszechny Spis Rolny 2020 r. https://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/rolnictwo-lesnictwo/psr-2020/powszechny-spis-rolny-2020-raport-z-wynikow,4,1.html

Pulido-Mancebo, J. S., López-Luque, R., Fernández-Ahumada, L. M., Ramírez-Faz, J. C., Gómez-Uceda, F. J., & Varo-Martínez, M. (2022). Spatial distribution model of solar radiation for agrivoltaic land use in fixed PV plants. Agronomy, 12(11), 2799. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12112799

Regionalne Biuro Gospodarki Przestrzennej Województwa Zachodniopomorskiego. (2024). Karta charakterystyki energetycznej województwa zachodniopomorskiego w zakresie wykorzystania OZE w produkcji energii elektrycznej. https://biznes.wzp.pl/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/karta-ENERGETYKI_III-kwartal_2024-1.pdf

Sarr, A., Soro, Y. M., Tossa, A. K., & Diop, L. (2023). Agrivoltaic, a synergistic co-location of agricultural and energy production in perpetual mutation: A comprehensive review. Processes, 11(3), 948. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11030948

Sánchez-Lanuza, M. B., Lillo-Bravo, I., Egea, G., & Delgado-Sanchez, J. M. (2024). Spectral irradiance, ground and crop dynamic reflectance: Key determinants in predicting photocurrent for agrovoltaic systems. Energy Conversion and Management, 312, 118572. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2024.118572

Schindele, S., Trommsdorff, M., Schlaak, A., Obergfell, T., Bopp, G., Reise, C., Braun, C., Weselek, A., Bauerle, A., Hogy, P., Goetzberger, A., & Weber, E. (2020). Implementation of agrophotovoltaics: Techno-economic analysis of the price-performance ratio and its policy implications. Applied Energy, 265, 114737. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.114737

Shukla, A., Kumar, M., & Shukla, A. (2022). A review of agri-voltaic system in India: Opportunities and constraints. International Journal of Environment and Climate Change, 12(10), 1134–1142. https://doi.org/10.9734/ijecc/2022/v12i1030909

SolarPower Europe. (2020). Agri-PV: How solar enables the clean energy transition in rural areas. https://www.solarpowereurope.org/insights/thematic-reports/agri-pv-how-solar-enables-the-clean-energy-transition-in-rural-areas

Sullivan, K. (2025). Economics of agrivoltaics. https://agrivoltaics.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Economics-of-Agrivoltaics_Kevin-Sullivan_2-5-25.pdf

Szajner, P., & Wieliczko, B. (2024). Energy efficiency in Polish farms. Energies, 17(15), 3654. https://doi.org/10.3390/en17153654

Szuta, A. F., Makowski, K., & Szczepańska, A. (2025). Implementing agrivoltaics in Poland: Policy and impact of photovoltaic farms on rural landscapes. Landscape Online, 100, 1132. https://doi.org/10.3097/LO.2025.1132

Tripty, T. A., & Nasrin, R. (2024). Efficiency upgrading of solar PVT finned hybrid system in Bangladesh: Flow rate and temperature influences. Heliyon, 10(7), e28323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28323

Urząd Marszałkowski Województwa Zachodniopomorskiego. (2016). Polityka energetyczna województwa zachodniopomorskiego. https://www.bip.wzp.pl/sites/bip.wzp.pl/files/articles/politykaenergetycznawojewodztwazachodniopomorskiego.pdf (in Polish).

Urząd Marszałkowski Województwa Zachodniopomorskiego. (2024). Pomorze Zachodnie stawia na moc z OZE. Województwo liderem energetyki odnawialnej. https://ekoszalin.pl/artykul/25523-Pomorze-Zachodnie-stawia-na-moc-z-OZE-Wojewodztwo-liderem-energetyki-odnawialnej (in Polish).

Urząd Regulacji Energetyki. (2023). Podsumowanie działalności branży energetycznej i gazowej w latach 2021-2022 oraz rekomendacje dla ich rozwoju - nowy raport Prezesa URE. https://www.ure.gov.pl/pl/urzad/informacje-ogolne/aktualnosci/11188,Podsumowanie-dzialalnosci-branzy-energetycznej-i-gazowej-w-latach-2021-2022-oraz.html

Valle, B., Simonneau, T., Sourd, F., Pechier, P., Hamard, P., Frisson, T., & Christophe, A. (2017). Increasing the total productivity of a land by combining mobile photovoltaic panels and food crops. Applied Energy, 206, 1495–1507. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.09.113

Venkateswaran, D., & Cho, Y. (2024). Efficient solar power generation forecasting for greenhouses: A hybrid deep learning approach. Alexandria Engineering Journal, 91, 222–236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2024.02.004

Voivodeship Fund for Environmental Protection in Szczecin. (2024). Annual statistical data. https://wfos.szczecin.pl

Wang, R., Gong, J., Zhang, S., Zhang, W., Dong, X., Hu, Y., Yang, G., Yan, C., Zhang, S., & Wang, T. (2025). Comprehensive potential assessment of agrophotovoltaic systems: A case study of Hebei Province. Renewable Energy, 240, 122178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2024.122178

Weselek, A., Ehmann, A., Zikeli, S., Lewandowski, I., & Högy, P. (2019). Agrophotovoltaic systems: Applications, challenges, and opportunities. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 39, 35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-019-0581-3

Weselek, A., Bauerle, A., Hartung, J., Zikeli, S., Lewandowski, I., & Högy, P. (2021). Agrivoltaic system impacts on microclimate and yield of different crops within an organic crop rotation in a temperate climate. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 41, 59. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-021-00714-y

Wojewódzki Inspektorat Ochrony Środowiska w Szczecinie. (n.d.). O województwie. https://wios.szczecin.pl/chapter_16000.asp

Willockx, B., Lavaert, C., & Cappelle, J. (2022). Geospatial assessment of elevated agrivoltaics on arable land in Europe to highlight the implications on design, land use and economic level. Energy Reports, 8, 8736–8751. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2022.06.076

Yajima, D., Toyoda, T., Kirimura, M., Araki, K., Ota, Y., & Nishioka, K. (2023). Agrivoltaic system: Estimation of photosynthetic photon flux density under solar panels based on solar irradiation data using all-climate solar spectrum model. Cleaner Engineering and Technology, 12, 100594. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clet.2022.100594

Zhang, F., Li, M., Zhang, W., Liu, W., Omer, A. A. A., Zhang, Z., Zheng, J., Liu, W., & Zhang, X. (2023). Large-scale and cost-efficient agrivoltaics system by spectral separation. iScience, 26(11), 108129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.108129

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Copyright (c) 2026 Economics and Environment

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.