Agrivoltaics for Sustainable Energy and Food Production in West Africa: Profitability Assessment of Configurations Variation (Case of Burkina Faso)

Agrivoltaics is a sustainable way to produce both energy and food in developing countries facing rising demand for energy and food and limited access to and availability of land resources. However, in agrivoltaics systems, energy production, crop yield, and the amount of equipment used vary considerably depending on the configuration, which can significantly affect the economic profitability of the system. In addition, there are few studies, especially in West Africa, that assess the economic profitability of switching from agricultural systems or PV power plants to agrivoltaics systems. This study addresses these issues. It assesses the profitability of agrivoltaics system configurations and compares them with traditional agricultural systems and PV power plants, using discount rates ranging from 6% to 12% and considering six indicators: the Net Present Value (NPV), Life Cycle Cost, Levelized Cost of Energy, Profitability Index, Internal Rate of Return, and Payback Period. The results show that high-density agrivoltaics systems with limited spacing between panel tables and rows of tables are more profitable than low-density systems. For the most profitable case, the NPV was EUR 9401.24 at a 12% discount rate, whereas this value is negative when the discount rate reaches 7% for case 1, which is the lowest-density agrivoltaic system. Case 3, which is the highest-density agrivoltaic system and the PV power plant, achieved an NPV of EUR 60,411.88 and EUR 164,732.64, respectively, at a 12% discount rate.