This study examines the environmental and economic implications of agrivoltaics—the practice of cultivating crops under solar panels—as an alternative to tackle the challenges of reconciling renewable energy objectives with limited land availability in Bangladesh.
Researchers: Rohini Kamal, PhD and Mohammad Tofail Bin Azam
Partner: International Growth Centre (IGC)
Timeline: 2022–2024
Status: Completed
Contact: Md. Tofail bin Azam; azam.mohammad@bracu.ac.bd
Context
Bangladesh faces a dual crisis of mounting land scarcity and acute vulnerability to climate change, environmental degradation, and energy insecurity. As one of the world’s most densely populated countries, the pressure on land resources is intensifying, while the need to transition toward cleaner, more sustainable energy systems has never been more urgent. Conventional energy sources — including coal, gas, and oil — impose significant but often underappreciated burdens on land, water, and the atmosphere. Meanwhile, food and energy demands continue to rise in tandem. These intersecting pressures call for innovative, land-efficient solutions that can simultaneously advance economic, environmental, and climate goals, and inform more evidence-based energy and land-use policies for Bangladesh and comparable developing nations.
Objectives
The study demonstrated how one of Bangladesh’s key constraints in achieving its renewable energy goals could be eased. It examined the economy-wide impacts of agrivoltaics on land use, employment, water resources, and emissions, highlighting its potential to address both climate change and environmental concerns. The project also aimed to encourage policies that incentivize farmers and solar providers to adopt agrivoltaics, thereby supporting the achievement of Bangladesh’s renewable energy targets.
Methodology
The research estimated the economy-wide impacts of agrivoltaics compared with other energy options available in Bangladesh, including coal, gas, oil, hydropower, nuclear, and conventional solar power, using input-output analysis. Input-output tables for Bangladesh’s industries were obtained from the General Economics Division (GED). These data were used to estimate employment generation associated with agrivoltaics and other energy sources, disaggregated by gender and skill level. The study assessed not only the direct impacts of power generation technologies but also their upstream and economy-wide effects on employment, wages, land use, water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and co-pollutants such as SOx and NOx. A key methodological innovation was the study’s focus on land impacted rather than merely land occupied by different power generation technologies, providing a more comprehensive assessment of their true land-use implications.
Findings
- The research indicated that agrivoltaics had the potential to create significant low- and medium-skilled employment opportunities and was associated with the smallest gender employment gap among the energy sources examined.
- The findings also suggested that agrivoltaics required less land for energy generation than fossil-fuel-based alternatives, making it a more sustainable and land-efficient approach to expanding renewable energy capacity.
- Blog: Environmental and economic impacts of agrivoltaics in Bangladesh
Recommendations
This policy brief highlights agrivoltaics as a potential alternative to fossil-fuel-based energy generation in Bangladesh. By promoting agrivoltaic systems on less fertile and single-cropped land, Bangladesh could progress toward its target of generating 40% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2041 without compromising agricultural production or the livelihoods of people dependent on agriculture. The study found that agrivoltaics could make a positive contribution to employment, particularly for low- and medium-skilled workers, while generating a smaller gender employment gap than other energy sources. It also demonstrated greater land-use efficiency, requiring less land than fossil-fuel-based power generation when land impacts are considered.
The methodology incorporated key considerations within the food–energy–environment nexus and provided policymakers with a framework for evaluating the broader implications of energy choices on employment, land, water, and environmental outcomes. Building on these findings, the research advanced to a proof-of-concept phase to assess the impacts of crop variation, soil quality, and land-leasing arrangements between solar producers and farmers, with a particular focus on the business models and economic viability of agrivoltaic systems.
