Determinants of farmers’ intentions to adopt agrivoltaic systems: Evidence from Denmark

Abstract/Summary:

Agrivoltaic (AgriPV) systems combine solar electricity generation with agricultural production and can reduce competition between energy and food production. However, their deployment depends on farmers’ willingness to adopt them. This study examines the determinants of Danish farmers’ intentions to adopt AgriPV using a survey of 254 farmers and an ordered probit model that integrates Theory of Planned Behavior constructs with institutional perceptions and farm structural characteristics, providing one of the first quantitative analyses from a Northern European context. Three findings stand out. First, adoption intention is driven by farmers’ perceptions rather than farm structure: perceived legislative support increases the probability of positive adoption intention by 16.6 percentage points, perceived environmental benefit by 15.5 percentage points, and perceived compatibility with existing farming practices by 9.1 percentage points, while farm size, turnover, and production type have no significant effect. Second, among the policy instruments, technical advisory support (17.6 percentage points) and guaranteed electricity prices (9.8 percentage points) are significantly associated with stronger adoption intentions. Third, although 84% of respondents consider investment grants effective, grants have no significant effect because near-universal support provides too little variation to distinguish farmers with stronger and weaker adoption intentions. Compared with earlier technology acceptance studies of European farmers, our findings show that incorporating institutional variables identifies regulatory credibility and informational uncertainty as the main constraints on adoption. Policy should therefore prioritize reducing uncertainty through specialized advisory services, revenue-stability mechanisms, and a coherent regulatory framework rather than relying on financial subsidies alone.