Trends, Insights, and Future Prospects for Production in Controlled Environment Agriculture and Agrivoltaics Systems

by Erik Dohlman, Karen Maguire, Wilma V. Davis, Megan Husby, John Bovay, Catharine Weber, and Yoonjung Lee

Public and private investments in alternative food production systems have increased in recent years. Two systems, controlled environment agriculture (CEA) and agrivoltaics (AV), have been highlighted for their potential to provide socioeconomic benefits beyond food production. This study examines recent innovations in the production process for CEA and AV systems, the extent to which they have been adopted, whether these are providing output for agricultural markets, and the types of crops or other agricultural goods the systems supply. There have been growing investments in these alternative food production systems, both for commercial and research purposes. But the growth opportunities also come with economic, technical, and other challenges, which are examined in this report.