Economic Feasibility of Agrivoltaic Systems in Food-Energy Nexus Context: Modelling and a Case Study in Niger
In the literature, many studies outline the advantages of agrivoltaic (APV) systems from different viewpoints: optimized land use, productivity gain in both the energy and water sector, economic benefits, etc. A holistic analysis of an APV system is needed to understand its full advantages. For this...
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/11/10/1906 |
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| author | Srijana Neupane Bhandari Sabine Schlüter Wilhelm Kuckshinrichs Holger Schlör Rabani Adamou Ramchandra Bhandari |
| author_facet | Srijana Neupane Bhandari Sabine Schlüter Wilhelm Kuckshinrichs Holger Schlör Rabani Adamou Ramchandra Bhandari |
| author_sort | Srijana Neupane Bhandari |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the literature, many studies outline the advantages of agrivoltaic (APV) systems from different viewpoints: optimized land use, productivity gain in both the energy and water sector, economic benefits, etc. A holistic analysis of an APV system is needed to understand its full advantages. For this purpose, a case study farm size of 0.15 ha has been chosen as a reference farm at a village in Niger, West Africa. Altogether four farming cases are considered. They are traditional rain-fed, irrigated with diesel-powered pumps, irrigated with solar pumps, and the APV system. The APV system is further analyzed under two scenarios: benefits to investors and combined benefits to investors and farmers. An economic feasibility analysis model is developed. Different economic indicators are used to present the results: gross margin, farm profit, benefit-cost ratio, and net present value (NPV). All the economic indicators obtained for the solar-powered irrigation system were positive, whereas all those for the diesel-powered system were negative. Additionally, the diesel system will emit annually about 4005 kg CO<sub>2</sub> to irrigate the chosen reference farm. The land equivalent ratio (LER) was obtained at 1.33 and 1.13 for two cases of shading-induced yield loss excluded and included, respectively. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:40:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fcb44588955449618090de9981362a0e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:40:34Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-fcb44588955449618090de9981362a0e2023-12-03T13:22:56ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952021-09-011110190610.3390/agronomy11101906Economic Feasibility of Agrivoltaic Systems in Food-Energy Nexus Context: Modelling and a Case Study in NigerSrijana Neupane Bhandari0Sabine Schlüter1Wilhelm Kuckshinrichs2Holger Schlör3Rabani Adamou4Ramchandra Bhandari5Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics, TH Köln—University of Applied Sciences, Betzdorfer Strasse 2, 50679 Cologne, GermanyInstitute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics, TH Köln—University of Applied Sciences, Betzdorfer Strasse 2, 50679 Cologne, GermanyResearch Centre Jülich, Institute of Energy and Climate Research—Systems Analysis and Technology Evaluation (IEK-STE), 52425 Jülich, GermanyResearch Centre Jülich, Institute of Energy and Climate Research—Systems Analysis and Technology Evaluation (IEK-STE), 52425 Jülich, GermanyFaculty of Science and Techniques, Abdou Moumouni University of Niamey, Niamey BP 10662, NigerInstitute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics, TH Köln—University of Applied Sciences, Betzdorfer Strasse 2, 50679 Cologne, GermanyIn the literature, many studies outline the advantages of agrivoltaic (APV) systems from different viewpoints: optimized land use, productivity gain in both the energy and water sector, economic benefits, etc. A holistic analysis of an APV system is needed to understand its full advantages. For this purpose, a case study farm size of 0.15 ha has been chosen as a reference farm at a village in Niger, West Africa. Altogether four farming cases are considered. They are traditional rain-fed, irrigated with diesel-powered pumps, irrigated with solar pumps, and the APV system. The APV system is further analyzed under two scenarios: benefits to investors and combined benefits to investors and farmers. An economic feasibility analysis model is developed. Different economic indicators are used to present the results: gross margin, farm profit, benefit-cost ratio, and net present value (NPV). All the economic indicators obtained for the solar-powered irrigation system were positive, whereas all those for the diesel-powered system were negative. Additionally, the diesel system will emit annually about 4005 kg CO<sub>2</sub> to irrigate the chosen reference farm. The land equivalent ratio (LER) was obtained at 1.33 and 1.13 for two cases of shading-induced yield loss excluded and included, respectively.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/11/10/1906agrivoltaicfood-energy nexussolar-powered irrigationbenefit-cost ratioland equivalent ratio |
| spellingShingle | Srijana Neupane Bhandari Sabine Schlüter Wilhelm Kuckshinrichs Holger Schlör Rabani Adamou Ramchandra Bhandari Economic Feasibility of Agrivoltaic Systems in Food-Energy Nexus Context: Modelling and a Case Study in Niger Agronomy agrivoltaic food-energy nexus solar-powered irrigation benefit-cost ratio land equivalent ratio |
| title | Economic Feasibility of Agrivoltaic Systems in Food-Energy Nexus Context: Modelling and a Case Study in Niger |
| title_full | Economic Feasibility of Agrivoltaic Systems in Food-Energy Nexus Context: Modelling and a Case Study in Niger |
| title_fullStr | Economic Feasibility of Agrivoltaic Systems in Food-Energy Nexus Context: Modelling and a Case Study in Niger |
| title_full_unstemmed | Economic Feasibility of Agrivoltaic Systems in Food-Energy Nexus Context: Modelling and a Case Study in Niger |
| title_short | Economic Feasibility of Agrivoltaic Systems in Food-Energy Nexus Context: Modelling and a Case Study in Niger |
| title_sort | economic feasibility of agrivoltaic systems in food energy nexus context modelling and a case study in niger |
| topic | agrivoltaic food-energy nexus solar-powered irrigation benefit-cost ratio land equivalent ratio |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/11/10/1906 |
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