Possibilities of Developing Agrivoltaics in Olive Groves in the Island of Crete, Greece

Solar photovoltaics are in the forefront of clean energy technologies used in the decarbonization of the global power system. Agrivoltaics is an emerging solar energy technology that allows the dual production of electricity and agricultural products in the same land area. The island of Crete, Greece has abundant solar energy resources while cultivation of olive trees is an old tradition embedded in Cretan culture. The possibility of installing agrivoltaics in olive groves in the island of Crete, Greece has been studied. Several published papers assessing the use of agrivoltaics in olive groves in several countries have been reviewed while agrivoltaics’ benefits and challenges have been stated. It has been estimated that installation of agrivoltaics in olive groves in Crete covering 1% of their surface, with coverage ratio at 15% and 30%, can generate electricity meeting 4.69% and 9.38% of Crete’ annual electricity demand respectively. The generated solar electricity can cover the electricity demand in 37,537 and 75,075 households respectively in Crete while it will save the emission of 35,252 tCO2 and 70,504 tCO2 annually. Although there are not sufficient data assessing holistically the use of agrivoltaics in olive groves there are many indications that, under specific conditions, they have many benefits regarding the dual production of electricity and olives. Our results indicate that installation of agrivoltaics in Cretan olive groves, under limited shading, can offer an additional income to farmers increasing their resilience and their adaptation to climate change. The results of the current study could be useful to many stakeholders of Cretan olive industry.