# Photovoltaics and Electrification in Agriculture
## 2 Special Issue Overview: General Topics
### Viability of Photovoltaics Coexisting with Traditional Agriculture  
An agrovoltaic system has certain benefits in terms of the temperature of both the panels and the crop itself. In the study by [PERSON] et al. [6], it is analyzed how the crop itself, with its evapotranspiration, reduces the temperature of the solar panels, which, as is known, is the main responsible for their loss of efficiency. Likewise, the placement of panels reduces the evapotranspiration itself and therefore, the hydric stress of the crop, especially in areas with high solar radiation. All these topics are currently the object of analysis and research, and each new study contributes to the improvement of the knowledge in this area. The areas in countries with desert climates in Africa and the Middle East present peculiarities that make the analysis of the viability of photovoltaic systems on crops interesting. The case of Africa is especially interesting since, on the one hand, climate change can affect this continent much more intensely and, on the other, population growth is significantly higher than on the rest of the planet. Therefore, optimizing the use of resources is extremely necessary in order to achieve the necessary social and political stability for a region where the only option many young people find is to emigrate. The [PERSON] et al. study [7] shows how traditional farming systems based on the use of diesel for irrigation and those that only use rainwater are at a clear disadvantage compared to agrovoltaic systems that use solar energy for irrigation. Moreover, the concept of land equivalent ratio (LER) is calculated with positive results that demonstrate how the combination of photovoltaics and agriculture results in better use of land. In the [PERSON] et al. study [8], an exhaustive theoretical study was carried out, including nine types of rotating crops on a surface of 24 ha on the hypothesis of crops in the southern area of Spain, one of the most representative areas of Mediterranean agriculture. Two systems for obtaining irrigation water were compared: Surface water and extracted from wells. The conservative analysis of the profitability of the shared use of the land for solar panels and rotary cutters was carried out in periods of four years. The conclusion is moderately optimistic, however, the rise in fossil electricity prices, as well as the emission reduction targets, make the results more than reasonable. Not only the regions that until now were classified as arid, but also those semi-arid or even those that were less warm, are affected by the increase in temperatures due to climate change as well as the decrease in average rainfall. This forces other regions like the rest of the Mediterranean areas to adapt their crops to this new situation. The economic feasibility of agrovoltaic systems is an issue depending not only on the type of crop and photovoltaic system but also on the area of the analysis. [PERSON] et al. [9] analyzed the agrovolvaic systems from a human point of view, interviewing north-American farmers and detecting in their conclusions how farmers are concerned not only with the present situation but also the long-term issues like productivity, market potential, just compensation, and system flexibility, in order to decide to implement or not the new energy systems over their crops. Although the lifetime of the systems has been extended to 25 or 30 years, and the reliability has been increased, there are other considerations related to the market that can affect the profitability and therefore, the viability of these systems. However, this is an issue that affects not only agrovoltaic systems but everything that concerns the agricultural market in general, generating increasing uncertainties that do not have to do with technology itself but also with the geopolitical situation and global market tensions. We can also find studies in areas with high humidity, such as central Europe. In the study by [PERSON] et al.