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Page 20 of 26 Salmerón et al. Carbon Footprints 2026, 5, 17

requirements . These factors may result in lower actual benefits than the regional potentials estimated here.
[59]
Moreover, current policy frameworks lack mechanisms to ensure that agricultural productivity is prioritized
over energy generation . These challenges highlight the essential need for targeted policy support and
[93]
farmer training programs to effectively manage these integrated energy and land use systems to maximize
environmental benefits and technical feasibility [30,60] .

Surface albedo alterations from biochar application or AVS deployment were not quantified in this analysis.
Biochar application darkens the soil surface, potentially inducing a warming feedback that could reduce its
climate mitigation potential by 13%-22% in some arable systems . However, the permanent olive canopy
[94]
and the presence of vegetative cover crops, whether implemented for erosion control or facilitated by the
AVS-induced microclimate, can mask the darker soil, attenuating the radiative forcing effect compared to
bare-soil conditions . Similarly, while the installation of PV panels decreases local albedo, recent global
[95]
assessments indicate that this radiative forcing is minor compared to the substantial carbon avoidance from
renewable energy generation, being neutralized within the first year of operation .
[96]

The economic dimension, while beyond the scope of this study, remains a critical barrier to practical
implementation. For biochar, the projected 2025 carbon removal credit price is €128 per tonne , while the
[97]
purchase price in Spain is reported at approximately €400 per tonne . Accounting for these carbon credits,
[23]
the net cost of applying biochar at a rate of 5 t ha translates into €1,360 per hectare. This represents a
-1
substantial investment for farmers, especially in the absence of robust incentives for biochar soil application
in Spain . Similarly, AVS systems require high upfront capital investments; however, available data suggest
[81]
a payback period of less than five years by the estimated electricity outputs (excluding long-term soil
benefits), offering significant potential for revenue generation [31,34,60,85] . Nonetheless, widespread adoption of
these synergistic strategies will likely depend on targeted policy support to overcome financial barriers and
ensure economic feasibility for farmers. To facilitate this adoption, current support mechanisms should
evolve to prioritize the funding of ecosystem services over intensive production models . Redirecting
[98]
financial support toward land-use strategies that deliver carbon sequestration and soil health is essential to
align rural policies with environmental goals. Furthermore, establishing such financial mechanisms is
identified as a prerequisite for a systemic transformation of the agri-food sector , providing the necessary
[99]
leverage to enable farmers to transition from intensive monocultures to resilient, climate-smart systems like
the ones proposed here.

CONCLUSIONS
This study evaluated the environmental profile of integrating biochar production and agrivoltaic systems
(AVS) within Andalusia’s olive agroecosystem. Using five scenarios to capture different regional levels of
biomass availability and AVS deployment, our life cycle assessment quantified a range of environmental
impacts for these interventions against the current baseline.

The results confirm that the investigated strategies can deliver substantial climate benefits through two
complementary pathways, namely long-term carbon storage in soils via biochar and short-term emission
reductions through renewable electricity generation. Scenario 5, which combines high biomass availability
and AVS deployment, achieves the largest climate change mitigation. Although the sensitivity analysis with
the projected 2030 electricity mix shows that AVS benefits decline as the grid decarbonizes, their role in
accelerating the energy transition remains significant. This finding also highlights the relevance of scaling
biochar’s long-term carbon sequestration, as its adoption across all Andalusian olive groves could offset a
substantial portion of agricultural emissions.