Key Takeaways:

• Utilizing land in two ways - for solar power generation and crop cultivation. 
• Climate/Crop benefits include reduced heat stress, reduced evapotranspiration, and Irrigation.
• Technology and pilot programs addressing challenges of high costs, regulatory variations, and farmer awareness.
• The PM-KUSUM scheme has contributed to the installation of solar energy on farmland through great subsidies.

Agrovoltaics, which means using land for solar energy generation (solar panels) and active agricultural crop production, is becoming one of the most game-changing renewable energy solutions for India. With India's goal of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel energy by 2030, the need for a scalable, land-efficient, sustainable, and farmer-friendly energy model has reached an urgent state. Agrovoltaics is the solution that can avoid the land-use conflict typical of large solar farms, as it allows farmers to continue producing crops on the same land as elevated solar panels or to strategically place solar panels between crops.

The agricultural sector in India is poised to take advantage of the global shift toward solar power through a solar-agriculture hybrid energy model. Existing research indicates that it is possible to generate up to 250 GW of solar power by utilizing only 1% of the land used for agriculture. On top of that, crops growing beneath solar canopies are experiencing lower heat stress, increased soil moisture, and reduced evapotranspiration. As temperatures begin to rise in many states, due to climate change, these microclimate benefits will become increasingly important for farmers to cope with erratic weather and high irrigation costs.

Government action has greatly enhanced the implementation of agrovoltaics. The PM-KUSUM scheme has contributed to the installation of solar energy on farmland through great subsidies for solar pumps, and it promotes higher structures for solar to encourage dual land use. Multiple states, including Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, Punjab, and Karnataka, have issued guidance to develop stilt structures specifically for agricultural use. The alignment of policies is helping to build trust among farmers, developers, and investors and to decrease delays and administrative drag.

Shaping India’s agrovoltaic ecosystem is part of the global collaboration of countries outside of domestic policies. Countries such as Germany, Japan, France, Italy, South Korea, and Israel have been frontrunners in the research and implementation of agrovoltaics. Increasingly, India has been collaborating with these countries on knowledge transfer, pilot programs, and technology adoption. For example, German elevated solar structures and crop-based shading models are currently being modified to fit the climate of India, and Japanese and Korean manufacturers are collaborating with Indian EPC firms to create lightweight mounting systems and high-efficiency bifacial AgriPV panels. In addition to this, the specifications developed by Israel in the field of precision agriculture, the development of low-water use irrigation techniques and the monitoring of microclimates are helping improve the productivity of agrovoltaic farms. Additionally, French and Italian research institutes are collaborating with Indian universities and state agencies to experiment on crop-solar compatibilities, shade tolerance, and longer-term soil regimes under a variety of solar configurations. Thus, these global collaborations are facilitating India’s ability to adapt proven designs while also lowering the cost of experimentation and scaling the model with greater confidence.

Several trends are changing India's agrovoltaic landscape. Taller structures, generally about three to five meters high, are designed in such a manner that they allow unobstructed farm machinery movements, preserving active agricultural operations. Technology is also becoming a significant component of the model. With drip irrigation, soil sensors, and artificial intelligence applications for crop planning included in the agrovoltaic operation, the concept of renewable energy and smart agriculture is being demonstrated. Farmers are also exploring a variety of new revenue structures from fixed land leases to shared energy leases, which create longer-term financial security.

While there is significant momentum, agrovoltaics has its own challenges. One of the most important issues is the cost of elevated structures vs. a traditional solar mounting structure. Various developers are attempting to address this issue through repeated iterations of optimized engineering, utilizing lightweight materials, refining foundation designs, and incorporating bifacial panels regionally to enhance project returns through reflected light. Additionally, the variation in agrovoltaic guidelines across states is a challenge and can create confusion for developers. Companies are reaching out to state energy departments, building design packs that will act as blueprints, and participating in pilot projects they are contracted to oversee that clarify technical norms.

Farmer awareness is also a limiting factor, as many growers are still unsure about the relationship between solar installation and crop yield. Within the timeframe of our agricultural transition from conventional methods toward more industrial forms, we see numerous opportunities in sustainable agricultural development involving fields demonstrations (a type of crop trial); crop yields from pilot research studies; open, honest, and transparent financial models; as well as training to help farmers learn to grow crops that grow well under both shaded conditions and in the shade. We foresee multiple implementation obstacles: determining land ownership documentation; determining whether or not certain crops may grow appropriately on areas occupied by Solar Farms, and determining the most effective means of coordinating Agronomists along with Solar Engineers. The establishment of tiered Agricultural Photovoltaic (AgriPV) teams, Digital Tools developed for the purpose of Land Survey, Partner Research Institutes engaged in agriculture-related research, and Agricultural Trials for specific crops related to the AgriPV Field will serve to facilitate these various implementation obstacles.

In spite of implementation obstacles associated with agrovoltaics, agrovoltaics is emerging quickly as an effective, scalable solution for transitioning India to Clean energy Resources. In addition to supporting the generation of renewable energy, agrovoltaics generates additional sources of income for Rural Residents, greatly enhancing the resilience of Agriculture.

The integration of policy support, international engagement, technological innovation, and on-the-ground implementation is helping to build a strong base for India to lead in agrivoltaic development.

As awareness grows and technology continues to evolve further, agrovoltaics is well poised to become a central feature of India's renewable energy vision. Companies that blend agricultural knowledge and expertise, advanced solar engineering, proven execution ability, and long-term service capability will be prominent in shaping the future of the sector. Agrivoltaics is expected to have a significant impact on the future of the agricultural sector because it provides an integrated solution, creating climate-smart agricultural ecosystems (creating income security for farmers and enabling renewable energy sources to thrive sustainably).