Agrivoltaics in India

This background paper examines the current state of agrivoltaics in India, focusing on the simultaneous use of land for agriculture and photovoltaic power generation to resolve land-use competition. It synthesizes evidence from over a dozen pilot projects and interviews with stakeholders—including farmers, private developers, and power distribution companies—to provide policy recommendations, business models, and technical transition mechanisms for commercial scale-up.

• Agrivoltaics is presented as a potential solution to the future competition for land resources between renewable energy and agriculture in India, with research indicating it can increase both panel efficiency and crop yield.
• India is in the early stages of adopting agrivoltaics, having already deployed more than twelve pilot projects throughout the country.
• The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) scheme explicitly supports the use of agrivoltaics, particularly for small-scale decentralized solar power plants.
• There is a phenomenon of 'micro-agrivoltaics' where small and marginal farmers are growing crops under solar panels despite a lack of formal recognition or mainstream support.

APA

Laan,, A. R. S. P. G. K. (2023). Agrivoltaics in India. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/agrivoltaics-in-india

Chicago

Laan,, Anas Rahman,Akash Sharma,Florian Postel,Siddharth Goel,Kritika Kumar,Tara. Agrivoltaics in India. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2023. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/agrivoltaics-in-india.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Laan, |first1=Anas Rahman,Akash Sharma,Florian Postel,Siddharth Goel,Kritika Kumar,Tara |title=Agrivoltaics in India |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=24 May 2023 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/agrivoltaics-in-india |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{laan2023agrivoltaics, author = {Laan,, Anas Rahman,Akash Sharma,Florian Postel,Siddharth Goel,Kritika Kumar,Tara}, title = {{Agrivoltaics in India}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/agrivoltaics-in-india}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }