Agrivoltaics across Drylands and Water Bodies: A Critical Review of Food-Energy-Water Synergies, Trade-offs and Design Priorities
B. Kailashkumar *
Department of Agriculture Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology, Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan University, Samayapuram, Trichy – 621112, India.
V. P. Karthika
Department of Agriculture Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology, Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan University, Samayapuram, Trichy – 621112, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Agrivoltaics is increasingly proposed as a means of reconciling renewable-electricity expansion with food production and water stewardship. Yet two of its most resource-constrained frontiers, drylands and water bodies, have developed through partly separate literatures: terrestrial agrivoltaics emphasises crop microclimate and land sharing, whereas floating photovoltaics and aquavoltaics emphasise land sparing, water conservation, aquatic environmental effects and, more recently, aquaculture. This critical narrative review integrates these domains to assess when photovoltaic co-location can function as a sustainable food-energy-water system rather than merely as spatial co-use. Literature published from 2010 to 10 June 2026 was selected through live searches of accessible scholarly indexes, repositories and verified journal records, supplemented by citation chaining. Evidence was appraised for design quality, environmental realism, transferability, duration, measurement adequacy and alignment between claimed co-benefits and measured outcomes.
The evidence is strongest for microclimatic moderation in hot, water-limited terrestrial settings and for land-sparing electricity generation on artificial water bodies. Partial photovoltaic shade can lower crop heat and evaporative demand and, for suitable crops and configurations, improve water productivity, but crop responses vary with shade fraction, species, season and irrigation regime. Floating photovoltaic systems can gain modest thermal-performance advantages and can reduce evaporation, yet ecological responses depend on coverage, depth, mixing, nutrient status and climate; changes in dissolved oxygen, stratification and primary production prevent generalisation of water-quality benefits. Aquaculture studies indicate plausible production synergies, but the empirical base remains small and site-specific. Across both settings, aggregate metrics such as land-equivalent ratio can conceal losses in one subsystem, while economic performance depends strongly on capital cost, electricity value, agricultural value and governance.
Sustainable deployment therefore requires climate- and livelihood-specific design, coupled food-energy-water metrics, long-duration ecological monitoring and safeguards for land, water and resource access. Agrivoltaics is best treated as a family of coupled systems whose benefits are conditional rather than intrinsic.
Keywords: Agrophotovoltaics, floating photovoltaics, aquavoltaics, dryland agriculture, water productivity, aquaculture, food-energy-water nexus