This work contributes to agrivoltaic design methodology through a digital replica and genomic optimization framework which simulates light rays in a procedurally generated agrivoltaic system at an hourly timestep for a defined crop, location and growing season to model light absorption by the photovoltaic panels and the chosen tomato crop.

This article posits that in order to optimize agrivoltaic systems for crop growth, energy pathways must be characterized. While solar panels shade crops, they also emit longwave radiation and partially block the ground from downwelling longwave radiation. The authors suggest that a deeper understanding of the spatial variation in incoming energy would enable controlled allocation of energy in the design of agrivoltaic systems. This paper also presents a model to quantify the downwelling longwave energy at the ground surface in an agrivoltaic array and demonstrates that longwave energy should not be neglected when considering a full energy balance on the soil under solar panels.