Agrivoltaics: Need a solution to the problem of green economy

Outstanding economic efficiency

Agricultural production combined with solar power on the same land area (also known as Agrivoltaics) is assessed as a model that brings many economic, social, and environmental benefits.

Recently, the Institute of Agricultural Market and Institution Research (AMI), in collaboration with the Institute for Agricultural Environment (IAE), held a seminar publishing the research report titled "Current Situation and Potential for Agrivoltaics Development in Vietnam" in Can Tho city. At the seminar, Mr. Do Huy Thiep, Deputy Director of the Institute of Agricultural Market and Institution Research, said that investors can earn a significant profit from this system. If selling all electricity to the grid, revenue can reach over VND 2 billion/year/MWp (approximately 1ha) in areas with favorable conditions. At the same time, profits from agricultural production are very diverse, with high-tech farms that can reach over VND 1 billion/ha/year.

In addition, this model also helps reduce electricity costs for farms that consume a lot of energy while maintaining livelihoods and creating more jobs for local people, especially female workers.

Dr. Mai Van Trinh, Director of the Institute for Agricultural Environment, acknowledged that agricultural space is now being wasted greatly. If it is combined with solar power, people's income will increase significantly.

He cited that, at a scale of 400 m², farmers can earn VND 96 million of electricity per year. While this area with 3 rice crops only harvests about 2.5 tons of rice, earning a profit of only about VND 7 million (if the selling price is VND 6,000/kg).

Since 2021, IAE and AMI have been co-researching the current situation and potential for agrivoltaics development in Tri Ton district (An Giang province), a place with the highest intensity of light and solar energy in the country. The results show that economic efficiency will vary depending on the level of investment. If only producing solar power, the average profit is about VND 60 million/year, but when combined with agricultural production, the income can be up to VND 104.8 million/year.

Notably, the research also recorded unexpected results when some crops had a productivity that doubled when grown under solar panels thanks to limiting pests, helping agricultural products to be clean, uniform, and have more beautiful designs.

Besides, this model also contributes to a significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, rice plants emit about 5–13 tons of CO2e/ha/crop. If switching to terrestrial plants, the emissions can be reduced by 90%. On the other hand, plants also adapt better to climate change conditions.

From this research, experts have identified some suitable crops and animals, improving productivity while also optimizing environmental conditions.

Typically, solar power combined with planting some annual plants, perennial plants, medicinal plants, and mushrooms (edible and medicinal mushrooms) is very suitable. For livestock farming activities, popular agrisolar power models are industrial farming (chicken, pig), grazing and semi-free farming some specific livestock (cricket, earthworm), and eel farming.

Need policies to expand the model

Despite great potential and high economic efficiency, agrivoltaics still faces many challenges about investment costs, estimated at over VND 10 billion/MWp.

According to Decree 135/2024/ND-CP of the Government stipulating mechanisms and policies to encourage the development of rooftop solar power for self-production and self-consumption, farms can only sell a maximum of 20% of electricity output to the grid, making it difficult to recover capital.

Mr. Do Huy Thiep recommends that there should be support policies to replicate the model according to each group of demand for use. For example, the farms that have had a barn system and installed solar panels can be applied according to the rooftop solar power mechanism and only allowed to sell a maximum of 20% of the installation capacity.

As for farms using solar power in an open form and not converted from agricultural land, the installation of solar panels without using them for agricultural production purposes is currently not allowed to operate.

According to Mr. Thiep, if there is an appropriate mechanism and the farm owner proves that the installation of solar panels does not affect agricultural production below and can still produce energy, the State will be more secure in allowing such construction. At the same time, it is also necessary to have an appropriate mechanism to manage and allow construction of works on agricultural land.

“It is necessary to build policies to introduce and expand agrisolar power models to contribute to national energy. Especially contribute to green transformation, the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the Net Zero target by 2050, and increasing the added value of the agricultural production chain,” Mr. Thiep expressed.

Dr. Mai Van Trinh added that projects related to agrivoltaics should make recommendations of density and height for the panel to optimize production; research the ability to apply and operate mechanization.

Another important factor is that the environment under the panel needs to be monitored and evaluated to avoid affecting crops and animals.

For crops, it is necessary to research to give the parameters to choose a membrane house that is suitable for solar panels. From there, determine the level of investment, suitable plants, fertilizer regime, and pesticides.

According to Mr. Nguyen The Hinh, Deputy Head of the Agricultural Projects Management Board (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), solar power brings much higher profits than doing agriculture. However, the dispute between agricultural land and solar power is now happening. The solar power models combined with crop production and livestock farming are mainly formal to sell grid electricity; there are no criteria to distinguish and manage agrisolar power and other solar power (rooftop, industrial).

Additionally, through surveys, most of the farms made solar power first and crop production, animal husbandry, and aquaculture after, and many models failed. Therefore, when expanding, technical problems and farm designs must be solved before making agrisolar power.

Currently, the Agricultural Projects Management Board is coordinating with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) to study the project on agricultural farming combined with solar power. The project was approved and implemented in 2025 with a budget of 3 million euros funded by GIZ, and Vietnam contributed VND 9 billion.

The main objective of the project is to focus on investigating the current situation, supporting techniques, directly serving the models, and bringing economic efficiency to localities developing agrisolar power.

* USD 1 = VND 25,330 ( Exchange rate updated on March 17, 2025; Source: Vietcombank)