Cognitive and affective reasoning about agrivoltaics: The influence of experiential engagement on perceived purpose and acceptance intentions

As ground-mounted solar parks increasingly compete with agricultural land use, dual land-use innovations such as agrivoltaics have emerged as a potentially transformative response — yet their adoption depends critically on how citizens evaluate them. This study examines how citizens in Denmark evaluate agrivoltaic systems compared to conventional solar parks, with particular attention to the interaction of cognitive and affective reasoning. Using immersive Virtual Reality (VR), 102 participants experienced three photovoltaic configurations—a conventional solar park, a vertical agrivoltaic system, and a horizontal agrivoltaic system—within a standardized agricultural landscape. Employing a mixed-methods design combining real-time verbal protocols and survey measures, the study shows that evaluations were not fixed but developed through ongoing sensemaking as visual and functional characteristics became legible. Initial impression-based responses related to aesthetics and landscape fit were frequently reconsidered once the dual-use logic of agrivoltaics was understood. Following experiential engagement, agrivoltaics were evaluated as greener, more innovative, and at least as acceptable locally as conventional solar parks, with vertical designs also receiving higher visual liking ratings. These findings show that experiential engagement can shift public evaluations from trade-off to synergy framings through cognitive-affective reappraisal, and that immersive visualization tools hold practical potential for early-stage governance and communication of emerging dual land-use technologies.