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Innovative Agricultural Technologies

Agrivoltaics and energy-efficient irrigation: crops and electricity on the same field

29 September 2026 updated · 5 min read · 23 views

For a farm that pumps water from wells, irrigation also means an energy bill. According to FAO, solar-powered irrigation systems can reduce the energy cost of irrigation (FAO and GIZ, 2018), but where and at what height you place the panels also changes the balance of crops and water. Drawing on the EU Joint Research Centre (JRC), FAO and peer-reviewed studies, this guide summarises agrivoltaic (Agri-PV) systems, which combine farming and electricity generation on the same land, and solar-powered irrigation pumps, and adds the rules that could be verified for Türkiye and Greece.

What agrivoltaics is and is not

According to the JRC, agrivoltaics is the simultaneous use of the same land for both photovoltaic electricity generation and agricultural production (JRC, 2023). A solar park that covers a field and ends farming does not meet this definition. Germany's DIN SPEC 91434 technical specification treats farming as the primary use and requires that yield under the panels does not fall by more than one third of the reference yield without panels; with panels above 2.1 m, land loss must stay below 10 percent, and with panels between the rows below 15 percent (JRC, 2023).

Potential and cost

By the JRC's calculation, covering just 1 percent of the EU's utilised agricultural area with agrivoltaic systems would give about 944 GW of installed capacity, assuming 0.6 MW per hectare; that is roughly five times the EU's installed capacity in 2022. On the other hand, an agrivoltaic installation is expected to cost at least 20 percent more than a standard ground-mounted plant of the same power (JRC, 2023). The main obstacles listed by the JRC are the lack of a clear EU-wide definition and standard, the risk that land changes status after installation and loses Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) support, permitting and grid connection procedures, and rising land prices in some countries.

Effects on plants and water

  • Light: Solar radiation under the panels drops by about one third, which can reduce yields (Weselek et al., 2019).
  • Land productivity: When electricity and crops are counted together, modelling shows that total land productivity can increase by up to 70 percent (Weselek et al., 2019).
  • Crop choice: Crops that may benefit from the cooling effect of shade include potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, broccoli and maize; crops that may suffer from less light include spinach and wheat (JRC, 2023).
  • Water: Evaporation and transpiration can decrease under the panels, but the effect depends on the crop; higher water use efficiency has been reported for citrus grown under shade nets (Weselek et al., 2019). In a non-irrigated pasture, soil moisture stayed higher under the panels, late-season biomass was 90 percent higher and water use efficiency was 328 percent higher (Adeh et al., 2018). These results belong to specific climates and crops and cannot be transferred directly to Çukurova.

Solar-powered irrigation pumps

According to a global review by FAO and GIZ, solar-powered irrigation systems can reduce life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions per unit of energy used for pumping by 95-97 percent compared with grid electricity and by 97-98 percent compared with diesel pumps. The heart of the system is the electronic controller, which matches the power from the panels to the pump using maximum power point tracking (MPPT); prices for pumps and controllers fell by about 30 percent between 2009 and 2017 (FAO and GIZ, 2018).

The same report also gives a serious warning: once the system is installed, the energy cost of pumped water is close to zero, so there is no financial incentive to save water; this can lead to waste and over-abstraction of groundwater. Combining solar pumps with drip irrigation does not guarantee savings either, because the water saved is often shifted to a larger area, to more water-intensive crops or to an additional season. FAO therefore considers water accounting, measurement with flow meters and groundwater monitoring an integral part of these systems (FAO and GIZ, 2018).

The framework in Türkiye

  • Unlicensed generation: Türkiye's Regulation on Unlicensed Electricity Generation allows agricultural irrigation facilities to install renewable generation up to twice the contracted power in their connection agreement, at the same or a different metering point as the consumption facility (Art. 5/1-h). Solar plants at the same metering point are, as a rule, limited to rooftop and facade installations; however, where other applicable legislation allows, a plant for agricultural irrigation may be built on part of agricultural land. In that case installed capacity cannot exceed the contracted power of the irrigation facility, and an approval certificate from the State Hydraulic Works (DSİ) is mandatory (Art. 11/3-4).
  • Grants: Communiqué No. 2026/10, published in the Official Gazette on 3 April 2026, provides grants of 60 percent of the eligible project amount for solar-powered irrigation systems (irrigation system and panels) and 70 percent for smart irrigation systems with sensors, control and remote management. In basins where water restrictions have been declared, the rate is 70 percent for all items; the eligible project amount cannot exceed 10 million Turkish lira. For solar projects on agricultural land, the permit obtained under Soil Conservation and Land Use Law No. 5403 must be attached to the application (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 2026).

The framework in Greece

In Greece, Law 5261/2025 (Government Gazette A 231, 12.12.2025) created a separate agrivoltaic regime through new articles added to Law 4951/2022. The main rules are:

  • Each station may have up to 200 kW; panels must stand at least 2.10 m above the ground, over cultivated land or on greenhouse roofs.
  • The programme totals 130 MW; no region may exceed 10 MW in total.
  • The right to install belongs to professional farmers registered in the farmers' register who cultivate the land, or to third parties with an agreement with them; each person may hold at most two stations.
  • Except on greenhouse roofs, stations cannot be installed on high-productivity farmland; the installation and equipment housing may not cover more than 10 percent of the originally cultivated area.
  • For 10 years the owner submits an annual technical report prepared by a qualified agricultural professional; the area under the panels must keep at least 66 percent of the yield of the year before installation. If the report is missing or the condition is not met, a fine of 10 euros per kW is applied each year (Greece, 2025).

In the JRC's 2023 review, Greece's CAP strategic plan contained no information on agrivoltaics (JRC, 2023); the new law now provides a separate national framework.

Before you decide

  1. Establish the pump's real energy use and contracted power, and size the installed capacity accordingly.
  2. Clarify the well's water use permit and metering: solar power lowers the energy cost of water, not the crop's water demand.
  3. If you plan to grow crops under the panels, take the crop's shade tolerance and the clearance needed for machinery into account.
  4. Include the time needed for land permits, DSİ approval and grid connection in your plan.

Sources

  1. Avrupa Komisyonu JRC, 2023. Chatzipanagi, Taylor ve Jaeger-Waldau, Overview of the potential and challenges for Agri-Photovoltaics in the European Union (JRC132879) (accessed 29 September 2026)
  2. Weselek vd., 2019. Agrophotovoltaic systems: applications, challenges, and opportunities. A review, Agronomy for Sustainable Development 39 (accessed 29 September 2026)
  3. Hassanpour Adeh, Selker ve Higgins, 2018. Remarkable agrivoltaic influence on soil moisture, micrometeorology and water-use efficiency, PLoS ONE 13(11) (accessed 29 September 2026)
  4. FAO ve GIZ, 2018. Hartung ve Pluschke, The benefits and risks of solar-powered irrigation: a global overview (accessed 29 September 2026)
  5. T.C. Enerji Piyasası Düzenleme Kurumu, 2019 (güncel metin). Elektrik Piyasasında Lisanssız Elektrik Üretim Yönetmeliği (RG 12.05.2019, 30772), mevzuat.gov.tr (accessed 29 September 2026)
  6. T.C. Tarım ve Orman Bakanlığı, 2026. Kırsal Kalkınma Yatırım Programı Kapsamında Tasarruflu Tarımsal Sulama Sistemlerine Yönelik Yatırımların Desteklenmesi Hakkında Tebliğ (No: 2026/10), Resmî Gazete 33213 (accessed 29 September 2026)
  7. Yunanistan, 2025. Νόμος 5261/2025 (ΦΕΚ Α' 231/12.12.2025), άρθρα 66-68: αγρο-φωτοβολταϊκοί σταθμοί (e-nomothesia) (accessed 29 September 2026)
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