A simple definition for a complex reality
Agrivoltaics is a mixed-use system that combines agricultural production and solar power generation on the same plot of land. The Generalitat’s Technical Instruction (July 2023) defines it as such and adds an important clarification: it is not agrivoltaics to allocate part of a plot solely to solar panels and the rest solely to crops. Agricultural activity must be maintained throughout the project’s lifetime; it is the priority and what gives meaning to the installation.
Photovoltaics and agriculture compete for the same land: flat, sunny areas that are often also the most fertile. Agrivoltaics transforms this competition into coexistence.
The starting point: the agronomic value of the land
Decree-Law 16/2019 included amongst its criteria for the installation of photovoltaic energy the requirement that there should be “no significant impact” on land of high agronomic value or of high agricultural interest (Art. 9.1.e), but did not define what such land entailed. This was supplemented by Law 3/2019 on agricultural areas, which requires an analysis of agricultural impacts for projects affecting agricultural areas.
The Department of Agriculture set out the criteria in a technical report dated June 2020, which was based on the eight classes of agricultural suitability – a system of American origin (Klingebiel and Montgomery, 1961) adapted to our conditions:
Classes I and II: photovoltaic plants were not permitted.
Classes III and IV: they were only permitted if a study demonstrated that there were no alternatives.
Mixed-use projects: these were permitted even in Classes I and II, provided they did not compromise agricultural production.
This was the first recognition – not yet by that name – of agrivoltaics. Since then, soil classification has been crucial. As the official soil map does not cover the entire territory at a sufficient scale, developers must provide soil studies, which are often the subject of much debate during the planning process.
Successive reforms
- Decree-Law 24/2021 took these criteria to law (new Article 9.3): Classes I to IV were legally designated as high-value land; for Classes III and IV, land use was limited to 10% of the region’s rain-fed area and 5% of its irrigated area; in Classes I and II, the rule that “it is not permitted” was retained, with three exceptions: self-consumption adjacent to the supply point, research projects covering up to 10 ha, and installations on crops that do not impede agricultural practices or mechanisation.
This last exception was, in practical terms, agrivoltaics.
- Decree-Law 5/2022 applied these percentages to the municipal area.
- In July 2023, the Technical Instruction set out the requirements for agrivoltaics: two categories: an elevated structure with crops underneath, or a low structure with crops between rows; a minimum agricultural yield of 60% of the reference yield; loss of usable area limited to 15% or 20%, depending on the category; maximum reduction in solar radiation of 40%; an agricultural use agreement with the person cultivating the plot.
- In 2025, the debate shifted to small plots. Decree-Law 12/2025, passed following the blackout, added a fourth exception: Class I or II plots whose size did not allow for viable operation, subject to compensatory measures and a maximum of 5 MW. The Government withdrew the decree in July, before it could be ratified by Parliament, amidst opposition from agricultural organisations.
- Decree-Law 22/2025 reinstated this exemption, but with a new caveat: land declared in the DUN is presumed to have agricultural value. Furthermore, it separated the regime for irrigated land from that for dryland farming and incorporated the term “agrivoltaism” into the text of the decree, only for irrigated land, with reference to the Technical Instruction and a joint monitoring committee.
The DUN and the CAP: from adversary to ally
The Single Agricultural Declaration (DUN), which is the annual application for CAP aid in Catalonia, has become a key part of the process, with varying effects depending on the type of project.
Compared with conventional photovoltaic systems, this works against the developer. Decree-Law 22/2025 established that arable land declared in the DUN is presumed to have agricultural value. Whilst this presumption allowed for evidence to the contrary, it made it an uphill struggle to argue that a plot was agriculturally unviable. Although this exception has been removed by Law 11/2026, the DUN retains its probative value. It is the most direct indication of recent agricultural activity, and the Agriculture authorities rely on it to assess the impact of a project.
In agrivoltaics, by contrast, the DUN serves as proof that agricultural activity is being maintained, which is precisely what is required. The Technical Instruction requires that this activity be maintained throughout the project’s lifetime and that the farm’s details be kept up to date in the register of agricultural holdings (SIDEAC). Added to this are the CAP regulations. Royal Decree 916/2025 added section 12 to Article 9 of Royal Decree 1048/2022. According to that section, the panels of a conventional plant constitute unproductive land and are deducted from the eligible area; in agrivoltaic installations, however, “the entire area of the plot” remains eligible. The requirements refer to implementing regulations which, as of July 2026, had not yet been approved. In the meantime, the FEGA’s 2026 inspection plan makes eligibility conditional upon ensuring compatibility with agricultural activity and similar yields.
This clears up one of the main uncertainties in the sector: that farmers would lose their subsidies if they installed solar panels. Agrivoltaics can be seen as a form of farming that also generates electricity.
Law 11/2026: a reform that raises doubts
Just as the framework seemed to be stabilising, Article 114 of Law 11/2026 on fiscal, financial, administrative and public sector measures completely replaced sub-paragraph (b) of Article 9.3. The text in force since 14 July 2026 merely states that self-consumption linked to a consumer on Class I and II land is “permitted”, including where connected via the grid at a distance of less than 5 km.
Under the new wording, four elements have been removed:
the prohibitive clause (“is not permitted, except…”);
the exception relating to research;
the exception relating to installations on crops;
and the exception relating to unviable plots.
Nor has any transitional arrangement been provided for. There are two possible interpretations, neither of which is satisfactory:
Restrictive interpretation: if only self-consumption is permitted, everything else is prohibited. Agrivoltaics on Class I and II dryland would then be unfeasible, whilst it remains expressly permitted on irrigated land – a type of land that the regulation protects even further.
Literal interpretation: as there is no prohibition whatsoever, these projects would be assessed against the general criterion of no significant adverse impact. The best-quality land would thus be exempt from the quantitative cap that continues to apply to Classes III and IV.
Why this change?
The reform was not included in the Government’s draft bill. It stems from Amendment 383, tabled jointly by the Socialistes i Units per Avançar, Esquerra Republicana and Comuns groups (BOPC 519, 17 June 2026). The drafting committee recommended it along with dozens of other amendments (BOPC 522) and the committee incorporated it into its report (BOPC 528). No justification for it has been published; the preamble to the Law makes no mention of it, nor was it addressed during the general debate.
The context lends itself to a reasonable hypothesis. The exemption for unviable plots was the provision most strongly contested by the agricultural sector, and the amendment may have been intended to remove it whilst, at the same time, expanding self-consumption. What is difficult to believe is that there was also an intention to eliminate agrivoltaics, which the Catalan Government itself has been promoting since 2020 through guidelines, a technical instruction and a monitoring committee.
Conclusion
Six reforms in seven years have turned Article 9 into an unstable provision. The latest, approved without debate via a budgetary accompanying bill, has left agrivoltaics in a legal grey area, just as the CAP was beginning to recognise it. Clarification is urgently needed: an interpretative instruction or, better still, a legislative amendment that expressly reinstates agrivoltaics on Class I and II land and establishes a transitional regime for ongoing projects. Legal certainty is also a prerequisite for the energy transition.
