About the project
PowerAV will create and demonstrate a digital toolkit that supports predictive and reactive operation and maintenance of agrivoltaic systems across Europe. The project integrates social-science insights from farmers, PV operators and other stakeholders with field measurements from AV plants in Norway, Germany and Türkiye and from conventional PV reference sites. It will deploy and refine PV-integrated stress sensors, develop hybrid physical–data-driven models for energy yield and degradation, and design AI-based control strategies, including AV-optimised tracker operation. These elements will be combined into a web-based decision-support environment that different user types can apply to plan, monitor and optimise AV O&M, and that is ready for follow-on innovation and commercialisation. Where applicable, methods will be implemented in utility-scale facilities.
Agrivoltaics are being deployed at scale, yet O&M practices mostly copy conventional PV or conventional farming and rarely address their combined constraints. Operators lack quantitative understanding of AV-specific stressors such as crop-related soiling, machinery-induced vibrations and microclimate effects, and there is little evidence on how these influence degradation, downtime and costs in different climates and system topologies. Existing PV models and digital O&M tools seldom cover the coupled energy–agriculture system or provide actionable guidance for multiple stakeholders. Tracker controllers are generally designed to maximise electrical yield alone and are not validated for utility-scale AV operation. Even after PowerAV, further long-term validation in additional crops, business models and regulatory settings will be needed to fully standardise AV O&M practices.
PowerAV will deliver a validated sensor package for AV stress monitoring, hybrid models for yield and degradation forecasting, and tested operational concepts including agrivoltaic-optimised tracker control from prototype to MW scale. These components will be integrated into a pilot version of the PowerAV toolkit that allows users to visualise system health, receive data-driven maintenance recommendations, coordinate farming and PV activities and, where relevant, interact with control algorithms. The project aims to show reduced O&M costs and downtime, more stable PV and crop performance, and improved coexistence of farming and energy production, thereby lowering perceived risk for developers and farmers. By preparing IP, commercialisation strategies and open scientific outputs, PowerAV will support wider European deployment of AV with higher system efficiency, better land-use performance and strengthened industrial competitiveness.