Elevated panel rows cast a shadow whose length follows real sun geometry: shadow = height / tan(elevation), long and to one side at dawn/dusk, near-zero at solar noon. Ground points sweep in and out of that shadow through the simulated day and accumulate a Daily Light Integral (DLI).
shadow_length = panel_height / tan(sun_elevation)
crop_response = DLI / (DLI + K), K = K0 / shade_tolerance
LER = crop_yield_fraction + panel_coverage
- Panel coverage — fraction of each row-pitch occupied by panel vs. open gap; also this field's share of a full solar monoculture's power output.
- Panel height — elevation of the panel above the crop; taller panels cast longer, more diffuse-mixed shadows.
- Solar irradiance — incoming sunlight (weather/season multiplier) driving both the DLI and the power curve.
- Crop shade-tolerance — how little light a crop needs to approach its light-saturated yield (Michaelis-Menten half-saturation constant K).
The Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) is the real metric agrivoltaic trials report: 1.0 means the shared field does no better than two separate fields; values above 1.0 (commonly 1.3–1.7 in published trials with shade-tolerant crops) mean the combined land is more productive than growing solar and crops apart.