India to support ambitious agrivoltaic programme

India is all set to expand the integration of solar power generation with agriculture. This was announced by Indian Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi at the inauguration of the three-day Agrivoltaics World Conference 2026.

India hosted the Agrivoltaics World Conference 2026 for the first time in Global South highlighting the growing role of agrivoltaics in advancing farmers’ incomes, agricultural productivity and clean energy generation. Mr Joshi said that with the next phase of the PM-KUSUM scheme, India expects to support one of the world’s most ambitious agrivoltaic programmes. Held under the theme ‘Powering the Global South’, it served as a global platform to advance the integration of solar energy and agriculture. Convening stakeholders from industry, research, policy and finance, the conference focuses on emerging opportunities in agrivoltaics to promote efficient land use, strengthen agricultural sustainability and support the transition towards a low-carbon economy.

As a Press Information Bureau (PIB) release explains, at the intersection of agriculture and renewable energy lies an innovative approach to making farmland more productive. Agrivoltaics combines crop cultivation with solar power generation on the same land, enabling farmers to diversify their incomes while contributing to India’s clean energy transition. By bringing food production and solar electricity together, it offers a promising pathway towards efficient land use, greater farm resilience and sustainable rural prosperity. Agriculture plays a vital role in India’s economy, serving as a key source of livelihood for approximately 46.1% of the population. Sustaining this vital sector requires reliable and affordable energy for irrigation and other farming operations. Solar power can help meet these everyday needs while advancing India’s clean energy transition. Agrivoltaics offers India an opportunity to strengthen agricultural livelihoods while advancing environmental sustainability. India’s vast agricultural land offers significant prospects to integrate solar energy with farming. Its extensive land base offers opportunities to generate solar electricity alongside agricultural production. Farmers can use solar power to operate irrigation pumps, reduce dependence on conventional electricity and potentially supplementary revenue by supplying surplus electricity to the grid. For instance, solar-powered irrigation pumps can provide daytime power for watering crops while reducing reliance on diesel-powered alternatives.

Agrivoltaics, also known as agrisolar or dual-use solar, maximises land-use efficiency, provides shade for crops and creates additional benefits for farmers, the PIB release adds. An agrivoltaic system integrates agricultural infrastructure with solar installations, adapted to local farming conditions. Solar panels installed above or between crop rows allow electricity generation alongside continued farming. Depending on the crop, panel design and local conditions, partial shading may also help reduce soil moisture loss. This approach can improve land-use efficiency, diversify farm earnings and strengthening both food and energy security. Through research, field demonstrations and policy development, India is exploring ways to adapt agrivoltaics to diverse agricultural conditions. It offers a promising pathway to align farmers’ livelihoods with India’s wider renewable energy ambitions.

The technology operates through various key elements, the PIB release explains. First, through elevated solar structures. Instead of placing solar panels directly on the ground, they are mounted on structures high enough to let sunlight and rain reach the crops below. These elevated solar panels for agriculture also allow farmers to move their equipment underneath without any trouble. Second, through partial shading. The panels provide shade, which helps protect crops from extreme heat and reduces water evaporation from the soil. This creates a cooler, more stable environment for plants to grow, especially in hot or dry regions. And three, through dual land productivity. Agrivoltaics optimises land use by integrating crop cultivation or livestock rearing with solar power generation, supplying electricity for farm activities and creating an additional revenue stream through surplus power sales to the grid.

As of August 2025, India had 36 operational agrivoltaics projects with an installed capacity of 37.54 megawatts, alongside 10 pilot projects under development. They span diverse agroclimatic regions and include elevated structures, interspace layouts and tracking systems, reflecting India’s evolving approach to integrating solar power generation with agricultural production. India holds significant potential for agrivoltaics. Estimates place India’s agrivoltaic potential between 3000 GW and nearly 14,000 GW, highlighting the scale of opportunity at the intersection of agriculture and renewable energy.