Tapping the Potential of Agriphotovoltaics in India

This report by the Power Foundation of India (PFI) and the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) evaluates the potential of Agriphotovoltaics (Agri-PV)—the co-location of solar power and agriculture—to address land-use conflicts and enhance rural incomes in India. It provides economic modelling for Feed-in Tariffs, identifies regulatory barriers, and offers a comprehensive set of policy recommendations to scale the technology.

• India possesses immense technical potential for Agriphotovoltaics, with a GIZ (2024) study estimating the capacity between 3,156 GW and 13,803 GW, supported by the fact that nearly 43% of the country's land is used for agriculture.
• Economic modelling based on CERC Renewable Energy Tariff Regulations 2024 indicates that Agriphotovoltaics projects are viable Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) systems, with modelled tariffs ranging from INR 3.67/kWh to INR 5.49/kWh depending on the Capacity Utilisation Factor (CUF).
• Agriphotovoltaics can be more cost-competitive than non-DRE grid-connected projects because it avoids transmission losses and infrastructure costs, which are estimated to be around INR 1.42/kWh in non-DRE systems.
• The installation of overhead Agriphotovoltaics is more capital-intensive than conventional ground-mounted solar, costing approximately INR 4.30 crore per MW compared to INR 3.50 crore per MW, primarily due to the cost of elevated mounting structures.
• A case study of SunMaster’s 2.5 MWp plant in Delhi demonstrated that Agriphotovoltaics can nearly double farmer income; annual agricultural income rose from approximately INR 60,000 per acre per year to INR 1.05 lakh per acre per year through a combination of agriculture, land lease, and equipment rent.
• The report identifies significant regulatory barriers, including the lack of a formal definition for Agriphotovoltaics in India and rigid state land-use policies that often require complex land reclassification to allow solar installations on agricultural land.
• To scale the technology, the authors recommend that the Ministry of Power mandate the purchase of Agriphotovoltaics power under the Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) framework, specifically proposing that 20% of the DRE target be met from small-scale Agriphotovoltaics (<10 MW) for FY 2026-27.
• The report suggests that the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare should notify minimum agricultural yield thresholds to ensure that solar installations do not compromise food security, a practice already implemented in countries like Germany (66% of reference yield) and Japan (80% of original yield).
• The study proposes a 'cost-plus' tariff approach for State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs) that explicitly includes base tariffs, overhead structure costs, land lease payments, and a provision of 6,000 units of free electricity annually per MW for farmers.
• Agriphotovoltaics is presented as a more scalable alternative to Rooftop Solar (RTS) in dense urban areas or Group Housing Societies where roof space is limited, as it allows for the procurement of power via Virtual or Group Net Metering from nearby agricultural sites.

APA

Chawla, H., Gupta, N., Habib, T., & Samal, A. (2025). Tapping the Potential of Agriphotovoltaics in India. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Agrivoltaics_CPI-1.pdf

Chicago

Chawla, Himanshu, Nikita Gupta, Tariq Habib, and Anup Samal. Tapping the Potential of Agriphotovoltaics in India. Climate Policy Initiative, 2025. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Agrivoltaics_CPI-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chawla |first1=Himanshu |last2=Gupta |first2=Nikita |last3=Habib |first3=Tariq |last4=Samal |first4=Anup |title=Tapping the Potential of Agriphotovoltaics in India |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=October 2025 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Agrivoltaics_CPI-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chawla2025tapping, author = {Chawla, Himanshu and Gupta, Nikita and Habib, Tariq and Samal, Anup}, title = {{Tapping the Potential of Agriphotovoltaics in India}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2025}, month = oct, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Agrivoltaics_CPI-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }