Understanding the Impacts of Photovoltaic Panel Type on Cilantro, Calendula, and Chile Pepper Production in a Containerized Agrivoltaic System

New Mexico farmers face challenges from drought and pollution, while many residents experience food insecurity. Combining strategies to reduce natural resource consumption, increase income, and produce food for local communities is an important consideration. Agrivoltaics (AV), the co-location of agricultural production and photovoltaic (PV) panels, can be used to generate electricity and provide shade to crops. This is important in hot, arid climates that are adopting solar energy, since AV can increase soil moisture and moderate temperature peaks. Providing demonstrations to the community of the dual use of PV panels and agriculture will be helpful in integrating AV into residential use, therefore a containerized agrivoltaics (CAV) project was established in Farmington, NM. Four different solar panel treatments, ranging in price, were installed onto traditional garden boxes and compared with a full sun control. Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) ‘Santo’, chile peppers (Capsicum anuum) ‘NuMex Primavera’, and calendula (Calendula officinalis) ‘Alpha’ were grown in the system. In addition to yield and other plant parameters, microclimates were monitored. Generally, plant yield, quality, and stomatal conductance were comparable in the PV treatments and the full sun control for all three crops. Continuing efforts to improve the livelihood of New Mexicans will require an interdisciplinary and applied scientific approach that considers the communities’ perspective and values.