Agrivoltaics: How Farming Under Solar Panels Works

For centuries, farmers have faced a fundamental constraint: the same land cannot serve two purposes simultaneously. You either grow food or generate energy. Agrivoltaics — the practice of farming under elevated solar panels — is changing that equation. It is one of the most exciting innovations in renewable energy, and it holds particular promise for India, where land scarcity and agricultural stress are pressing concerns.

This article explains how agrivoltaic systems work mechanically, which crops benefit most, the water conservation advantages, how they qualify under PM KUSUM, and what real farms in Rajasthan are experiencing from dual-income agrivoltaic setups.

What is Agrivoltaics?

Agrivoltaics (also called agrisolar or agrophotovoltaics, abbreviated APV) refers to the simultaneous use of land for both solar power generation and agricultural production. In a conventional ground-mounted solar installation, panels are placed close to the ground — typically 1–2 metres high — which prevents any meaningful farming beneath them. In an agrivoltaic installation, panels are elevated to 3–5 metres above the ground, leaving sufficient space for crop growth, tractor movement, and normal farm operations underneath.

The concept was first demonstrated in Germany in 1981 but has accelerated globally since 2010, driven by improvements in panel efficiency (which reduce the number of panels needed to achieve a given output) and growing evidence that partial shading from panels can actually improve the performance of many crops in hot, semi-arid climates like Rajasthan.

How the Elevated Panel System Works

An agrivoltaic structure is essentially a large elevated framework — typically hot-dip galvanised steel — designed to carry solar panels at height while leaving the ground beneath accessible. The key engineering decisions are:

• Panel height: 3–5 metres to the underside of the panel. This allows standard farm equipment (tractors up to 2.8 m height) to pass beneath. In some designs, height is variable to accommodate different crops.
• Panel tilt: Typically 10–15 degrees (optimised for Rajasthan's latitude of 26–28° N). East-west bifacial panel configurations are also used in some designs to reduce shading while generating from both faces of the panel.
• Inter-row spacing: Wider than standard ground mounts — typically 6–10 metres between rows — to ensure adequate light reaches the crops below.
• Ground coverage ratio: Agrivoltaic installations typically use a Ground Coverage Ratio (GCR) of 25–40% compared to 60–75% for standard ground mounts. This means more land is exposed to direct sunlight.
• Bifacial panels: Many agrivoltaic installations use bifacial panels, which generate electricity from both the front (direct irradiation) and rear (reflected light from the soil and crops below) surfaces, partially compensating for the lower GCR.

Which Crops Work Well Under Solar Panels?

Not all crops respond equally to the partial shade created by elevated panels. Research from Germany, France, Japan, and more recently from MNRE-funded pilots in Rajasthan and Gujarat has identified a clear set of crops that thrive in agrivoltaic conditions:

Crops that require full, intense sunlight throughout their growing season — such as wheat, paddy, sugarcane, and cotton — are generally not ideal candidates for agrivoltaic shading at high panel densities. However, at lower GCRs (25–30%), even these crops have shown manageable yield reductions of 5–15%, which may be acceptable given the income from solar generation.

Water Conservation: A Critical Benefit

In Rajasthan, water scarcity is as significant a constraint as land scarcity. Agrivoltaic installations offer a documented and often underappreciated benefit: significant reduction in evapotranspiration — the water lost from soil and plant surfaces to the atmosphere.

Research from the IIT Jodhpur agrivoltaic pilot in 2023 found:

• Soil moisture retention improved by 28–34% in the shaded zone under panels
• Irrigation frequency reduced from every 5–7 days to every 9–12 days for the same crops
• Overall water consumption reduced by approximately 25–35% compared to open-field cultivation

This effect is particularly pronounced in summer (April–June) when ambient temperatures in Rajasthan exceed 45°C. The shade from panels reduces soil surface temperature by 4–8°C on average, dramatically slowing moisture evaporation. For farmers already paying for solar-powered irrigation (or diesel pumps), this water saving multiplies the value of the agrivoltaic investment.

"Before the agrivoltaic panels, we irrigated every 6 days in summer. Now we irrigate every 11–12 days and the crops look healthier. The spinach especially — it used to bolt quickly in the heat; now we're getting an extra two weeks of harvest before it bolts." — Suresh Poonia, Agrivoltaic farmer, Jodhpur, Rajasthan

PM KUSUM Eligibility for Agrivoltaics

Agrivoltaic installations can qualify under PM KUSUM Component A (decentralised solar power plants on agricultural land), provided they meet the scheme's technical and distance criteria. Key eligibility points:

• The land must be agricultural land (registered as such in revenue records)
• The installation must be within 5 km of a 33/11 kV substation for grid connection
• The plant must be between 500 kW and 2 MW in capacity per applicant
• For agrivoltaic systems specifically, some states (including Rajasthan under its KUSUM rules) have provisions allowing the farming continuation requirement to be met through agrivoltaic cropping
• Farmers who install agrivoltaic PM KUSUM plants receive the standard DISCOM Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for selling electricity, providing stable revenue for 25 years

It is important to work with an experienced EPC partner and your State Nodal Agency when applying, as agrivoltaic structures require structural design approval in addition to standard solar permits.

The Dual Income Model: Real Numbers

The financial proposition of agrivoltaics is unique: the farmer earns from two sources simultaneously from the same land.

Real Farm Examples from Rajasthan

Barmer District, Rajasthan — 1 MW Agrivoltaic System

A 1 MW agrivoltaic installation on 5 acres of agricultural land near Barmer was commissioned in early 2024. The owner — a third-generation farmer — continues growing coriander, fenugreek, and garlic under the panels. Annual solar income from the DISCOM PPA (₹3.1/unit) generates approximately ₹28–30 lakh per year. Crop income from the same land, now with reduced irrigation needs, contributes an additional ₹4–5 lakh annually. Total land productivity has increased approximately 4x compared to farming alone.

Jaisalmer District, Rajasthan — 500 kW Agrivoltaic Pilot

An MNRE-supported pilot at a farmers' collective in Jaisalmer installed a 500 kW agrivoltaic system covering 3 acres in 2023. The pilot specifically studies aloe vera cultivation under elevated panels — aloe vera being a shade-tolerant, water-efficient crop well-suited to the Thar Desert climate. Preliminary results show aloe vera yield quality improving by 18% under the shade, while the cooperative earns ₹12–14 lakh annually from the grid-connected solar system under a DISCOM agreement.

Challenges and Considerations

Agrivoltaics is a promising technology, but it comes with challenges that farmers should understand before committing:

• Higher upfront cost: Elevated mounting structures cost approximately 20–35% more than standard ground-mount systems of the same capacity. This increases the payback period to 5–7 years without PM KUSUM subsidies, or 3–4 years with subsidy support.
• Crop selection discipline: Not every crop a farmer traditionally grows will work well. A crop planning discussion with an agronomist is important before installation.
• Maintenance access: While tractor access is preserved, panel cleaning and maintenance requires equipment that can reach 3–5 metres safely.
• Grid connection lead time: In Rajasthan, grid connection for Component A projects under PM KUSUM can take 12–18 months from application to commissioning. Planning ahead is essential.

Despite these challenges, agrivoltaics represents one of the most sustainable and financially compelling paths for Indian farmers to simultaneously solve their energy and income challenges. As panel costs continue declining and the technology matures, it is rapidly becoming a mainstream option rather than a niche innovation.