Representative image. Arne Hückelheim, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Why it matters
Most Indian farmers hold too little land to give any up for a solar plant. Agrivoltaics would let them keep farming and earn from power on the same plot, if the government closes the cost gap. How the final policy handles leases, repairs and the right to return land to farming will decide whether small farmers can take part.
Agrivoltaics, where crops are grown under raised solar panels on the same plot, will be backed under the next phase of the PM-KUSUM farm solar scheme, the Centre said this week. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) plans to add about 5 GW of agrivoltaic capacity in roughly three years, its secretary Santosh Kumar Sarangi told reporters at the seventh Agrivoltaics World Conference in New Delhi, Mint reported on 21 October 2026.
What the agrivoltaics plan under PM KUSUM 2.0 says
Agrivoltaics will be part of PM KUSUM 2.0 and may replace the scheme’s current Component A, Sarangi said, according to Mint. Component A today supports small solar plants of up to 2 MW on farmland, with a target of 10 GW in total. The government also released draft policy measures to support agrivoltaics on Wednesday, the paper reported.
New and Renewable Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi, who opened the conference on 20 October, said India would launch one of the world’s agrivoltaic programmes in the scheme’s next phase, The Hindu reported. He said a study by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), published in July, found about 47.5 million hectares, nearly 30% of India’s more than 160 million hectares of farmland, suitable for the model. Using just 10% of that land could produce more power than India is expected to need in 2050, he said.
Why farmers’ land is the sticking point
A normal ground-mounted solar plant needs about four acres for each megawatt, Joshi said, and 85% of Indian farmers are small or marginal and cannot stop farming to free up land. Agrivoltaics is meant to get around that: the panels sit high enough for farming to continue below, so the farmer keeps the crop and earns from the power as well.
At the four acres per megawatt the minister cited, 5 GW of conventional solar would take up roughly 20,000 acres. Under agrivoltaics, that land would stay in cultivation.
Joshi said Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh together hold nearly half of India’s estimated agrivoltaic potential. Worldwide, installed agrivoltaic capacity has passed 18.4 GW, he said.
The cost gap agrivoltaics has to close
Raised structures make agrivoltaic plants about 25% to 30% costlier to build than ground-mounted solar, both Joshi and Sarangi said. Joshi put the likely cost of agrivoltaic power at ₹3.20 to ₹3.30 a unit, against ₹2.50 to ₹2.60 for ground-mounted solar, a gap of about 70 paise a unit. He noted that the average cost of supplying electricity was around ₹7 a unit in 2025-26.
Sarangi said the aim is to make up that difference so agrivoltaic power can be sold at the same tariff as ground-mounted solar. He did not say how much support the government would offer.
Mint has earlier reported that the Union Cabinet is expected to consider a proposal of about ₹51,000 crore to extend PM-KUSUM, with about ₹35,000 crore for new projects and ₹16,000 crore for existing liabilities. The proposal also shifts towards solarising whole farm feeders and adding battery storage.
What farmers want from the agrivoltaics policy
Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, speaking at the same conference, backed the extra income agrivoltaics could bring but said land use concerns and feasibility in different regions had to be worked out first, The Hindu reported. He said the policy should give farmers a way to get solar modules repaired and disputes settled, and make clear the terms on which farmland can be sold or leased for such projects.
Chouhan also wants the policy to list which crops suit which regions, set rules for recycling old solar equipment, and make sure land can go back to normal farming if a farmer leaves a project. German Ambassador Jasper Wieck offered support for joint research at pilot sites, Mint reported.
How much money goes into the plan depends on the Cabinet decision on extending PM-KUSUM, which Mint reported is still awaited. The push comes as farm policy is also changing on the fuel side; NewsPlainly recently reported on the fall in the price of maize ethanol.
Frequently asked questions
What is agrivoltaics?
It is the use of the same land for both farming and solar power, with panels raised high enough for crops to grow underneath.
How much agrivoltaic capacity does the government plan?
About 5 GW in roughly three years, under PM KUSUM 2.0, according to MNRE secretary Santosh Kumar Sarangi.
Why is agrivoltaic power costlier?
The raised panel structures make plants about 25% to 30% costlier than ground-mounted solar, the minister and secretary said.