Review
Version 1
Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed
Energy Policy for Agrivoltaics in Alberta Canada
Version 1
: Received: 25 October 2022 / Approved: 26 October 2022 / Online: 26 October 2022 (09:19:37 CEST)
A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.
Jamil, U.; Pearce, J.M. Energy Policy for Agrivoltaics in Alberta Canada. Energies 2022, 16, 53, doi:10.3390/en16010053. Jamil, U.; Pearce, J.M. Energy Policy for Agrivoltaics in Alberta Canada. Energies 2022, 16, 53, doi:10.3390/en16010053.
Abstract
As Alberta increases solar power generation, land use conflicts with agriculture increase. A solution that enables low-carbon electricity generation and continued (in some cases increased) agricultural output is the co-locating of solar photovoltaics and agriculture: agrivoltaics. This study reviews policies that impact the growth of agri-voltaics in Alberta. Solar PV-based electricity generation is governed by three regula-tions based on system capacity. In addition, agrivoltaics falls under various legisla-tions, frameworks, and guidelines for land utilization. These include Land Use Frame-work, Alberta Land Stewardship Act, Municipal Government Act, Special Areas Dis-position, Bill 22 and other laws/policies all of which are reviewed in the context of agrivoltaics. Several policies are recommended to support rapid diffusion of agrivolta-ics. First, open access research into agrivoltaics, which not only will help optimize agrivoltaic systems for the region, but also coupled with public education is expected to galvanize social acceptability of large-scale PV deployment. Clearly defining and categorizing agrivoltaic technology, developing agrivoltaic standards, making agri-voltaic technology-friendly regulations/frameworks and developing programs and pol-icies to incentivize agrivoltaic deployment over conventional PV will all accelerate dif-fusion. Through these measures, Alberta can achieve conservation and sustainability in food and energy sector while simultaneously addressing the renewable energy and climate-related goals.
Keywords
agriculture; agrivoltaic; Canada; energy policy; farming; Alberta; photovoltaic; solar energy
Subject
Engineering, Energy and Fuel Technology
Copyright: 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.
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