Harvesting the Sun, and powering the farm

Why in the News

India is hosting the seventh AgriVoltaics World Conference at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, this week, on the theme ‘Powering the Global South’. Growing crops and solar power on one plot can give small and marginal farmers, about 86% of India’s farmers, a second income without giving up cultivation.

What is agrivoltaics, and why does it suit Indian farms?

1. What it is: Agrivoltaics (AgriPV) grows crops and generates solar power on the same land, using structures and spacing suited to farming. It is like a field under a raised roof of solar panels.
2. Why farmers need it: A good harvest does not always bring a good income, because weather, input costs and market prices can upset a farm household’s budget.
3. PM-KUSUM link: The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s (MNRE) Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) has already solarised irrigation, meaning irrigation now runs on solar power. Its next phase will create separate space for AgriPV.
4. The takeaway: One plot can yield food and electricity, so solar expansion need not compete with farming for land.

What can agrivoltaics offer the farmer?

1. Electricity income: Power from the panels gives the cultivator an additional source of revenue alongside the crop.
2. Lower energy costs: Where solar power replaces diesel or purchased electricity, the farm’s running costs fall.
3. Crop protection: The shade under the panels creates a favourable microclimate, meaning milder local conditions, protecting crops against heat stress, drought, excessive solar radiation and hail.
4. Rural jobs: Installation, maintenance and farm services create local work, helped by domestic manufacturing and transparent procurement.

What does a working agrivoltaic plot need?

1. Shade tolerant crops: Crop choice should favour shade tolerance, morphological plasticity (a plant’s ability to change its form in lower light) and stable yields under intermittent sunlight.
2. Field management: Planting crops in strips between panel rows, called alley-based planting, keeps yields up when irrigation and nutrients are adequate.
3. Light threshold: Designs should keep around 70% or more of natural sunlight reaching the crop canopy. Adjustable panels can let in more light during sensitive growth stages.

What groundwork does India already have?

1. ICAR-CAZRI, Jodhpur: The Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s (ICAR) Central Arid Zone Research Institute has tested cultivation alongside solar generation and rainwater harvesting.
2. BAIF, Pune: BAIF’s Rural Innovation Centre is testing different panel configurations across a range of crops.
3. Centre of Excellence on Agri-Photovoltaics: This 100 kW centre was set up in 2025 at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. ICAR and the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) run it jointly.
4. Two years of field data: The Centre’s data will show which crops suit AgriPV, its working limits, and how best to combine fields and panels.
5. Global South partnership: The International Solar Alliance (ISA), launched by India and France, offers a base for joint field research and training with countries short of land and water.

Challenges

1. Farmer trust: Cultivators may sign agreements without understanding the return to expect or who bears each responsibility.
2. Land rights: Long solar contracts can weaken a farmer’s hold on land, and tenant cultivators and women farmers have little say in projects.
3. High upfront cost: Raised structures cost more than ground-mounted panels, which modest holdings struggle to finance.
4. Yield risk: Panels that block too much light cut crop output, turning a second income into a trade-off.

Way Forward

1. Joint planning: Agriculture and energy departments should plan together with States, research institutions and local bodies.
2. Plain contracts: Standard agreements should state the expected return and each party’s duties simply, keeping land ownership with the farmer.
3. Inclusive design: Give tenant cultivators and women farmers a formal voice in project design and benefit sharing.
4. Affordable finance: Develop low-cost structures and credit suited to small holdings, not only better solar technology.

Conclusion

Agrivoltaics can make farmland yield both food and power, but only if the small farmer trusts the deal and can afford the structure. The marker to watch is whether the conference yields field projects with contracts small farmers understand.

Solar energy in India

1. Installed capacity: India crossed 150 GW of installed solar capacity in March 2026.
2. Farm solar share: 14.10 GW of this comes from KUSUM and off-grid projects, against 110.43 GW from utility-scale plants.
3. Potential: NISE estimates a solar potential of 748 GW if only 3% of wasteland is used.
4. Land need: Solar plants occupy at least 5 acres per 1 MW. Eg. Farmers protested against the Dholera Solar Park in Gujarat.

Matching Previous Year Question

“[2022, GS3, 15 marks] Do you think India will meet 50 percent of its energy needs from renewable energy by 2030 ? Justify your answer. How will the shift of subsidies from fossil fuels to renewables help achieve the above objective? Explain.”