Agrivoltaics potential in Eastern Europe faces legislative hurdles and corruption scandals, despite benefits for farming and energy.
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Agrivoltaics, which combines agriculture and solar energy production on the same land, holds significant potential across Central and Eastern Europe, but lacks clear legislation in many regions. While pilot projects exist, such as sheep grazing among panels, governments have not established comprehensive strategies. Czech Republic permits energy generation only for self-consumption on these farms, whereas legislative ambiguities in Bulgaria have led to corruption scandals involving fraudulent soil tests to allow solar installations on fertile land. A study by Ember suggests that countries like Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia could triple renewable energy production if they utilized a fraction of the potential available on agricultural land. Farmers see benefits such as additional income from leasing land for solar projects, improved forage quality due to shade, and reduced water consumption for livestock. In contrast, Bulgaria has seen corruption scandals following legislative changes that offered incentives for agrivoltaic projects. The article also notes that in Romania, farmers are petitioning the government to allow dual use of their agricultural land for both farming and photovoltaic installation.
