Agrivoltaics India is about to move from pilot plots towards national policy. On 9 September, Union Renewable Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi said the next phase of PM-KUSUM will carry a dedicated agrivoltaics component. The idea is simple. Farmers grow crops below the panels, and they earn from the solar power generated above.

Agrivoltaics India: three incomes from one acre

Mr Joshi spoke at the curtain-raiser for the 7th Agrivoltaics World Conference, which will take place at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, from 21 to 23 October 2026. He said a farmer can earn three streams of income from the same acre: the crop sold, the power sold to the DISCOM, and the money saved on diesel. According to him, solar income can give farmers security in good years and bad years, because their earnings otherwise depend on monsoons and market prices.

The focus, the minister said, will be on small and marginal farmers, Farmer Producer Organisations, cooperatives and panchayats. Land ownership will stay with the farmer.

Where PM-KUSUM and rooftop solar stand today

Mr Joshi said India added 55.29 GW of non-fossil capacity last year. Around 29 lakh pumps have been solarised under PM-KUSUM. In addition, decentralised solar contributed 16.3 GW last year, made up of 7.6 GW from PM-KUSUM and 8.7 GW from rooftop solar. Most of the rooftop capacity came under PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, which he said is reaching 5.6 million beneficiaries. The country has also trained almost 70,000 Surya Mitras for village-level skills. Households that want to follow this path can start with our guide to a rooftop solar system for homes.

The engineering questions still open

Mr Joshi was candid that more research is needed. BAIF’s Rural Innovation Centre in Pune is testing 17 solar configurations across 30 crops. The right mix of panel height, spacing, tracking system and business model differs for each crop and region.

He asked industry to design structures that let tractors and harvesters move freely and that withstand local weather. He also asked ICAR, agricultural universities and Krishi Vigyan Kendras to generate crop-wise and region-wise data. Finally, he called for new materials and mounting systems that narrow the cost gap with conventional solar.

Agrivoltaics India and the Global South

The minister said India’s experience can be especially relevant to the Global South, where farms are small, sunshine is abundant and grids are still catching up. The conference organisers describe this year’s theme as “Powering the Global South”. At the curtain-raiser, an Agrivoltaics Pitch Hub on “Fueling Farm to Fork Innovations” was also announced, with the National Solar Energy Federation of India as knowledge partner. It is built around the 3F framework of Food, Fuel and Fibre.

What to watch next for agrivoltaics

Agrivoltaics is promising, but it is not automatic. Panel shade affects some crops, and these systems cost more than ground-mounted solar. Moreover, the release does not spell out subsidy levels or tariffs for the new component, so those details remain to be seen. The October conference should offer early field data. Meanwhile, you can explore more solar and clean energy coverage and our sustainable farming stories. You can also read how India’s first soil carbon payments reached farmers.

Source: Press Information Bureau, Government of India (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, 9 September 2026). Additional context from Energetica India and the conference website. Images: UC Davis College of Engineering (CC BY 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons.