Potential of agrivoltaics in Mexico: Opportunities and challenges for energy and agricultural sustainability

Agrivoltaics, defined as the co-location of agricultural production and photovoltaic electricity generation on the same land, has emerged as a promising strategy for expanding renewable energy while maintaining productive agricultural use. This study presents a national-scale screening of the theoretical upper-bound agrivoltaic electricity potential in Mexico and identifies the main opportunities and challenges for future implementation. The assessment combines cultivated area, state-level average solar irradiation, photovoltaic efficiency, and literature-derived agrivoltaic density scenarios for crops cultivated in Mexico with documented agrivoltaic relevance. Results show that maize presents the highest theoretical electricity estimate at the national level (9219.89 TWh yr −1 ), followed by wheat (809.12 TWh yr −1 ) and green chili (435.07 TWh yr −1 ), mainly due to their cultivated area and adopted density assumptions. On a per-hectare basis, strawberry, raspberry, green chili, and tomato show the highest estimates, ranging from 2.04 to 2.73 GWh yr −1 ha −1 under the reference-density scenario. Crop classification by agrivoltaic density and rotation compatibility indicates that crop management constraints should be considered when moving from national estimates to site-specific planning. Under an unconstrained upper-bound scenario, allocating an equivalent area corresponding to 1% of the selected agricultural land would correspond to 14.79% of national electricity consumption and an avoided emission estimate of 22.38 million tons of CO 2 per year. The results provide a screening-level reference for prioritizing regions, crops, and research pathways, while technical, economic, spatial, and social challenges require site-specific assessment before implementation. • Theoretical agrivoltaic electricity potential is estimated for Mexico. • Solar resource, crop area, PV efficiency, and agrivoltaic density are integrated. • Sinaloa, Chiapas, and Jalisco show the highest state-level estimates. • Maize, wheat, and green chili show the highest national estimates. • Strawberry, raspberry, green chili, and tomato lead per-hectare estimates.