Agrivoltaic System Designing for Sustainability and Smart Irrigation

Abstract

This project focuses on designing an agrivoltaic system integrated with smart irrigation to promote sustainable agriculture and efficient resource management. The system combines solar photovoltaic (PV) panels with agricultural land to generate renewable energy while cultivating crops, thereby achieving dual land utilization. The solar panels provide electricity for powering irrigation pumps and IoT based sensors, which monitor soil moisture, weather data, and crop conditions in real time. A smart irrigation mechanism uses this data to automate water distribution, ensuring crops receive the right amount of water at the right time, minimizing waste and reducing water consumption. Additionally, the shading effect of solar panels reduces soil evaporation and heat stress on crops, leading to improved crop yield and resilience against climate variability. Surplus solar energy can be stored or sold back to the grid, creating an extra source of income for farmers. This project aims to demonstrate an energy efficient, water saving, and climate smart agricultural model that is scalable for both small and large farming operations, addressing the pressing challenges of food security, water scarcity, and sustainable energy production.

Introduction

The project focuses on developing an agrivoltaic system that integrates solar power generation with agriculture to promote sustainable and climate-smart farming. Agrivoltaics allows solar panels to be installed above crops, enabling simultaneous electricity production and cultivation. The system helps reduce water loss, lower field temperature, improve crop conditions, and generate additional income through surplus electricity. A smart irrigation system using IoT sensors is also included to monitor soil moisture, temperature, and weather conditions in real time, ensuring efficient water use and energy sustainability.

The study area is located in Karaparambu, Malappuram district, Kerala, covering about 50 cents (2025.6 m²) of paddy land. The site has favorable conditions, including flat terrain, good solar exposure, tropical monsoon climate, suitable soil type, and access to irrigation water.

A detailed land survey using DGPS was conducted for accurate boundary and elevation measurement. Soil testing was performed to assess suitability for cultivation under the agrivoltaic system. Results show:

• Soil pH: 6.17 (moderately acidic, suitable for crops)

• Soil moisture content: 28% (high water-holding capacity)

• Organic carbon: 22.72% (very high organic matter)

• Total nitrogen: 0.028% (low nitrogen level, requires fertilization)

Conclusion

This project successfully demonstrates the design of an agrivoltaic system integrated with smart irrigation to support sustainable and efficient agricultural practices. By combining solar photovoltaic panels with crop cultivation, the system enables dual use of land, allowing farmers to generate renewable energy while continuing agricultural production. This approach helps improve land productivity and promotes the use of clean energy in farming. The integration of IoT-based sensors for monitoring soil moisture, weather conditions, and crop status enables better decision-making in irrigation management. The smart irrigation system ensures that water is supplied only when required, which helps reduce water wastage and maintain proper soil moisture for healthy crop growth. At the same time, the partial shading provided by solar panels helps lower soil temperature and reduce evaporation, creating a more favorable microclimate for crops. Another important outcome of this system is the efficient utilization of solar energy. The electricity generated from the solar panels can power irrigation pumps, sensors, and other agricultural equipment. Any surplus energy can be stored or supplied to the grid, providing an additional economic benefit to farmers. This project highlights the potential of agrivoltaic systems to ad dress key challenges in agriculture such as water scarcity, high energy costs, and environmental sustainability. By integrating renewable energy with smart irrigation technology, the system offers a practical solution for improving farm productivity while conserv ing natural resources. Therefore, agrivoltaic farming can be considered a promising and scalable model for future sustainable agriculture.

References

[1] Abdelhamid et al., (2025); \"Design and evaluation of a solar powered smart irrigation system for sustainable urban agriculture\" Scientific Reports. [2] Livera et al., (2025); \"Current trends and challenges of agrivoltaic systems towards sustainable production of temperate fruit crops under intensive orchard setups\" Science Direct. [3] Barron Gafford et al., (2025); \"Agrivoltaics as a climate-smart and resilient solution for midday depression in photosynthesis in dryland regions\" Sustainable Agriculture. [4] Sangik Lee et al., (2023); \"Agrivoltaic system designing for sustainability and smart farming: Agronomic aspects and design criteria with safety assessment\" ScienceDirect. [5] Nagalingam et al., (2023); \"Smart Agriculture - Automatic monitoring of Soil Moisture and Irrigation control for farming land\" Agriculture Journal.

Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Athiqa Ashraf K, Hazil K , Mohammed Thanhan E, Shammas Rahman P V , Assist Prof. Ajana P. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.