Feasibility assessment and evaluation of agrivoltaics systems in ASEAN countries: System design, techno-economic considerations, challenges and opportunities

Agrivoltaics is a dual use of land for agriculture and solar energy. It has emerged as a promising solution to address land use conflicts, food security and renewable energy targets. According to International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), global installed solar PV capacity surpassed 1,185 GW by 2022 and is projected to reach 4.7 TW by 2050. This emphasizes the urgency of efficient land deployment. Despite this growth, agrivoltaic adoption in tropical regions like Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remains limited. Most of the research concentrated in temperate zones and lacking long term, site specific analysis. This study aims to develop a comprehensive site selection framework for agrivoltaic implementation in ASEAN countries by integrating technical modelling with spatial, environmental and policy based assessments. The study evaluates site suitability by integrating the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) with Arc Geographic Information System (ArcGIS) for overlay and spatial analysis to quantify the suitable countries across ASEAN. The criterion implemented were based on technical and environmental criterion that classified into five suitability classes to determine the site for Agrivoltaic System (AVS) feasibility analysis. The results determined Thailand, Indonesia and Cambodia as the most suitable countries for AVS. Thailand with the strongest overall balance exhibiting high energy output reaching 113 kWh/m 2 /year with the highest Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) of 1.31 at 50 % coverage and stable Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) values between 0.33 and 0.55 MYR/kWh. Indonesia shows technical potential with energy output up to 102 kWh/m 2 /year and LER of 1.27. Cambodia shows lower energy output up to 94 kWh/m 2 /year and LER of 1.22, recorded the lowest LCOE at 0.29 MYR/kWh which reflects its cost competitiveness. These findings position agrivoltaics as a transformative opportunity for ASEAN to simultaneously accelerate its clean energy transition and strengthen the regional food systems in the face of climate and land use pressures.