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I saw a bunch of cows hanging out in the shade, munching grass under spaced-out solar panels on a 27 C (80 F) day in southern Bavaria - seems to work.

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It seems to me that, done right, agrivoltaics could result in a negative land cost for PV, in that the value of increase in crop production (animal or vegetable) could outweigh losses from land taken up by panel supports and associated equipment.

That would further increase PV's cost advantage over other forms of generation.

But how does the grass grow in the shade?

Lots of grasses grow well in shade. There is enough light from scattered sunlight or from holes.

There are lots of plants that grow in shade. I have a corner of my yard that receives almost no direct sunlight, but native plants from forest do well.

That’s true but it’s never the highly nutritious grasses that cows/goats need like alfalfa, false plantains, millets etc. You would need to heavily supplement their diets, I would imagine.

The panels were spaced out enough that light was hitting part of the grass, and would probably hit all or most of it throughout the day

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