Preface: AgriVoltaics World Conference 2024

Abstract

The 5^th AgriVoltaics World Conference in Denver, Colorado, USA was a landmark event for the global agrivoltaics community. Nearly 500 scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and industry leaders from over 30 countries gathered to share international research outcomes and facilitate the deployment of agrivoltaics. The conference theme of “Building Food-Energy-Water Resilience through Agrivoltaics at Multiple Scales” permeated each technical session, roundtable discussion, and poster session. The event’s broad representation of scientific disciplines, government sectors, and nations highlighted the diverse partnerships and collaborative ethos that is driving agrivoltaics forward, while emphasizing regional and local differences in agrivoltaic designs and applications.

AgriVoltaics2024 showcased the leading edge of agrivoltaics research and development practice. More than 60 technical sessions, 8 roundtable discussions, and 80+ poster presentations offered participants a deep dive into novel analyses, technological innovations, foundational tools, and real-world applications in agrivoltaics. Sessions addressed critical issues related to multiple approaches to “scaling agrivoltaics,” such as workforce development, industry perspectives, legal frameworks, community engagement, and best practices. As agrivoltaics continues to grow as a field and research discipline, questions of how to scale deployment most effectively must take into consideration insights from the burgeoning research community. This conference enabled direct engagement among researchers, industry, and policymakers to foster discussions on improved research approaches and agrivoltaic deployment strategies.

Beyond technical content, the largest AgriVoltaics World Conference to-date delivered unforgettable learning and networking opportunities, illuminating the growth in the global agrivoltaics community and the desire for increased coordination. Participants visited multiple agrivoltaics sites that demonstrated successful agrivoltaic solutions across multiple scales, celebrated winners of the Student Design Competition for novel agrivoltaic applications, contributed to a strategic workshop aimed at international coordination of agrivoltaics research, and enjoyed agrivoltaics-grown food during the conference dinner and networking event.

The spirit of community and commitment to excellence of the 5^th AgriVoltaics World Conference is embodied in these proceedings. A stated goal of the conference was to bridge the scientific and non-scientific communities necessary for agrivoltaics to flourish. The proceedings showcase this harmony across communities and represent the latest advancements in agrivoltaics that lay the groundwork for continued global progress.