In a 2023 China tea-field trial, bushes grew beneath tracking solar panels; fresh-leaf yield was 15.3% higher while annual average PAR was 52.9% of the control

In a field experiment in Fuyang District, Hangzhou, China, researchers tested whether solar panels and tea cultivation could share the same land, installing photovoltaic panels above tea bushes to generate electricity while the tea grew underneath. The result of this experiment was quite surprising. The tea bushes that grew under photovoltaic panels yielded 15.3% more fresh leaves in 2023 compared to the control plot, according to field measurements reported by Zheng and colleagues in the journal Agriculture.

This does not mean less light directly improved photosynthesis; rather, the reduced midday stress on the plants allowed them to convert available light more effectively than they could under full, unshaded sun. All these findings have been described in the paper Effects of Photovoltaic-Integrated Tea Plantation on Tea Field Productivity and Tea Leaf Quality, published in the journal Agriculture (MDPI) in 2026.

A single-axis photovoltaic system was installed above established tea bushes


This experiment was carried out with the use of the available tea plantation located in the Fuyang district of Hangzhou city. Tea cultivation took place beneath a single-axis tracking PV system, oriented on a horizontal north-south axis. During this study, the scientists made a comparison of the PV-shaded tea plantation and the tea plantation that was grown in the open field. Thus, the effects of the PV system on the environment and on the productivity of the tea plantation could be studied. The PV system has been in place since 2017, six growing seasons before the 2023–2024 yield data discussed here, giving researchers a longer baseline to study its interaction with the tea plantation, according to the paper's methods section.

The tea received 52.9% of the control field's annual average PAR

The PV panels greatly reduced the amount of photosynthetically active radiation falling on the tea plants. According to the observations at the height of the tea harvesting, the average annual PAR under the photovoltaic panels amounted to 52.9% compared to the control field in 2023. Photosynthetically Active Radiation is the amount of light that can be utilized for photosynthesis by the plant. Hence, the 52.9% value indicates the amount of PAR at the height of the tea harvesting, rather than the total irradiation from the sun, including the infrared and ultraviolet light. The level of shade varied depending on the weather conditions and the placement of the tracking panels.

Fresh-leaf yield increased by 15.3% in 2023

Despite the fact that the irradiation received was considerably lower for the plants under discussion, tea bushes growing near the photovoltaic system yielded greater amounts of new leaves in 2023. Fresh leaf yield was greater by 15.3% compared to the open-field control. This does not mean tea plants require less light. On the contrary, researchers have discovered that the effect of partial shading influences the reaction of plants to high irradiation levels. High light intensities may cause the midday depression of photosynthesis in tea plants. It is stated in the research that photovoltaic shading decreased the midday depression of photosystem II, which is an important component of photosynthesis. This may be the reason why lower irradiation did not decrease the productivity of plants.

Moderate shading altered the tea plants' microclimate

In addition to changes in sunlight intensity, the researchers found microclimate changes around the tea plants, including higher daytime humidity and temperature variation. These environmental factors accompanied the decrease in light intensity. As a result, growing conditions differed from those in the unshaded control plot. As the study reports, changes in the microclimate and reduced midday stress improved the plants' physiological performance under the photovoltaic system.

The same tea field produced 9.3% more fresh leaves in 2024

A similar yield increase was seen the following year. In 2024, the PVtea site yielded 9.3% more fresh leaves than the control field, as reported in Effects of Photovoltaic-Integrated Tea Plantation on Tea Field Productivity and Tea Leaf Quality. Such long-term data are important because a short-term yield gain could otherwise be explained by unusual weather or temporary plant responses.

Tracking panels allowed tea production to continue beneath the solar array

This experiment showcases a possible agrivoltaics model in which photovoltaic energy production and crop production both occur on the same piece of land. This configuration worked especially well for tea because the study's own PAR and yield data show the crop tolerating and here, benefiting from the reduced midday radiation the panels created. Tracking changed the amount of light the plants received without removing the tea plantation from land used for solar production.

Taken together, the results don't suggest tea always grows better with less sunlight. Instead, they point to a narrower mechanism: moderate shading changed the tea plants' immediate growing environment enough to ease midday stress, letting the crop and the solar array share the same land without one undercutting the other.