Balancing Energy and Agriculture in High-Density Agrivoltaic Systems: Taguchi–GRA Optimization of Gap-Light Diffusing Modules

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Land-constrained subtropical regions need agrivoltaic systems that increase renewable electricity generation without displacing crop production. This challenge is particularly urgent in Taiwan, where limited land availability intensifies competition between ground-mounted photovoltaic development and agricultural production. However, high-density arrays cause severe, nonuniform shading, whereas spaced or semi-transparent layouts improve crop illumination at the cost of photovoltaic installation density. Existing studies also tend to evaluate predefined configurations rather than efficiently balance electricity generation and crop-light availability across site and structural variables. This study developed a Gap-Light Diffusing Agrivoltaic Module (GLDAM) that replaces a conventional six-column cell layout with four vertical cell strips, providing approximately 35% light-transmitting area. A high-haze film redistributes radiation passing through the gaps into more uniform diffuse light. Three Taiwanese sites were evaluated using TRNSYS 18 with NSRDB weather data for annual electricity generation and SketchUp–SunHours for effective farmland sunshine duration. A Taguchi L9 array combined with GRA (GRA) screened column height, tilt, and azimuth under predefined high-density constraints. The preferred configuration generated 6,868 kWh annually and provided 3,926 h of effective sunshine. The diffusion film reduced the irradiance coefficient of variation from 53% to 22%, representing a 58.5% reduction in spatial variability. A short-term field trial indicated approximately 10% greater lettuce fresh biomass than open-field cultivation. Combined agricultural and electricity revenue was estimated at 14.18 times that of open-field farming alone. This study contributes a structural–optical module design and a reproducible, computationally efficient framework for site-specific energy–agriculture trade-off analysis.