The economic feasibility of aquavoltaics in Taiwan- A case study of whiteleg shrimp<i> (Litopenaeus</i><i> vannamei)</i> culture

Abstract

Green energy has become a global development trend, with solar power generation being a critical aspect of this movement. However, the development of solar power generation requires significant land resources, which poses a challenge in Taiwan due to its small area and dense population. Nevertheless, Taiwan possesses ample land resources in the aquaculture industry, with approximately 40,000 ha of aquaculture area. Hence, a new aquaculture model called aquavoltaics can be developed by integrating the aquaculture industry with solar power generation. This paper employs the Cost-Benefit Analysis and Monte-Carlo Method to evaluate the economic feasibility and analyze the risk of whiteleg shrimp culture under six different aquavoltaic configurations. The results demonstrate that all six types of aquavoltaics for whiteleg shrimp culture are economically viable. Furthermore, among the ground-type aquavoltaic systems, the embankment type exhibits the highest profitability and the lowest investment risk. As for facility-type aquavoltaics, the greenhouse type represents the most favorable investment scheme.