Agrivoltaics is a new integrated approach that has potential to simultaneously address agricultural and energy issues. This study evaluated the effects of shading from different configurations of photovoltaic arrays above the tree canopy on transpiration of pear trees.
The experiment was established in 2021–22 at the Tatura SmartFarm over a pear orchard (‘ANP-0118’ on BP1 rootstock, marketed as a Lanya™) with north–south row orientation. Trees were trained on Open Tatura trellis (i.e., V system). Two photovoltaic array treatments (two 1.05 m wide strips above each tree row) angled 45° and 5° to the horizontal and facing west, and a control treatment (no photovoltaic array above the canopy) were used in the experiment. The energy produced by photovoltaic arrays was monitored and sequentially directed to battery storage and the energy grid.