Agrivoltaics Calculator

Crop production under panels with dual-use analysis.

Land area (acres)

Solar capacity (kW DC)

Peak sun hours (PSH)

System derate factor

Ground coverage ratio (GCR)

Panel height (ft)

Full-sun crop revenue ($/acre)

Electricity rate ($/kWh)

Crop shade tolerance (%)

Tab to move between fields

Combined annual revenue ($)

$63,360.00

≈ 6 years of state college

Annual solar production (kWh)730,000

Solar revenue ($/yr)$58,400.00

Light transmission (%)65%

Crop yield retained (%)62%

Crop revenue ($/yr)$4,960.00

Land Equivalent Ratio (LER)1.62

Energy density (kWh/acre)73,000

How to Use This Calculator

Enter the total dual-use land area in acres and installed solar capacity in kW DC.
Set peak sun hours for your location and system derate factor.
Enter the ground coverage ratio (GCR) and panel height -- lower GCR and higher panels allow more light for crops.
Input full-sun crop revenue per acre and your crop shade tolerance percentage.
Review the Land Equivalent Ratio (LER > 1.0 means dual-use outperforms separate land uses) and combined annual revenue.

How the result changes with Solar capacity (kW DC)

Land area (acres): Total dual-use land area in acres.
Solar capacity (kW DC): Total installed DC solar capacity.
Peak sun hours (PSH): Average daily peak sun hours at your location.
System derate factor: DC-to-AC efficiency including all losses.
Ground coverage ratio (GCR): Fraction of ground area covered by panels. Lower GCR = more light for crops.
Panel height (ft): Bottom edge of panels above ground. 8+ ft recommended for tractor access.
Full-sun crop revenue ($/acre): Annual crop revenue per acre under full sun conditions.
Electricity rate ($/kWh): PPA rate or wholesale electricity price.
Crop shade tolerance (%): How well the crop tolerates reduced light. Lettuce/herbs ~90%, corn ~60%.

Combined annual revenue ($): Total revenue from solar electricity + crop production.
Annual solar production (kWh): Estimated electricity generated per year.
Solar revenue ($/yr): Annual electricity revenue.
Light transmission (%): Percentage of sunlight reaching crops.
Crop yield retained (%): Expected crop yield as percentage of full-sun yield.
Crop revenue ($/yr): Adjusted annual crop revenue under panels.
Land Equivalent Ratio (LER): LER > 1.0 means dual-use is more productive than separate land for each.
Energy density (kWh/acre): Annual solar production per acre.

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Land area (acres) = 10, Solar capacity (kW DC) = 500, Peak sun hours (PSH) = 5, System derate factor = 0.8 = 9 input(s) provided
Calculate Combined annual revenue
Combined annual revenue = solarRevenueAnnual + agriRevenue
63360 = $63,360
Calculate Annual solar production
Annual solar production = solarCapacityKW * peakSunHours * 365 * systemDerate
730000 = 730000
Calculate Solar revenue
Solar revenue = annualSolarKWh * electricityRate
58400 = $58,400