Harvesting Sunshine For Sustainable Development: Report On Agrivoltaics In India 2024

The report on Agrivoltaics in India, prepared in January 2024, is a comprehensive exploration of integrating agriculture and photovoltaic (PV) systems to achieve sustainable development goals. This innovative approach, known as agrivoltaics (APV), is designed to concurrently produce electricity and cultivate crops on the same land, addressing the pressing need for clean energy while ensuring agricultural productivity. The collaboration between the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) of India, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), aims to explore the potential and facilitate the adoption of agrivoltaics across India.

The initiative responds to the G20 declaration under India’s presidency emphasizing the acceleration of renewable energy deployment. It identifies new and innovative solar applications (NISAs) that include agrivoltaics (AgriPV), floating photovoltaics (FPV), canal top photovoltaics (CTPV), rail/road integrated photovoltaics (RIPV), and building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV)/urban photovoltaics (UPV) as key to transforming India’s energy landscape. The project’s goal is to establish agrivoltaics as a viable solution for India, where land availability is a critical issue, by exploring its potential, business models, technical, policy, market enablers, and skill requirements.

Agrivoltaics technology allows for the dual use of land, addressing the challenge of land scarcity and promoting efficient land use by integrating PV panels with agricultural practices. Various configurations, such as overhead stilted, interspace, and inter-row south configurations, are considered to maximize both electricity generation and agricultural yield. This dual-use approach not only contributes to clean energy production but also offers protection to crops, potentially improving water availability and reducing the impact of extreme weather conditions.

The potential assessment of agrivoltaics in India involves a detailed analysis based on crop-specific data and geographic information systems (GIS) to estimate the national-level potential. This method takes into account various factors such as solar resource availability, land suitability, and technical restrictions to identify suitable areas for agrivoltaics deployment. The result is a significant estimated potential for agrivoltaics across India, with a range of technical potential that highlights the vast opportunity for integrating solar power with agriculture.

The report discusses various business models for agrivoltaics deployment, focusing on the benefits to different stakeholders, including farmers, distribution companies (DISCOMs), and the government. These models aim to provide insights into the financial viability, benefits, and challenges of implementing agrivoltaics projects, emphasizing the importance of supportive policies and financing mechanisms to encourage adoption.

Financing agrivoltaics projects is a critical aspect, with discussions on interventions needed to support project development and the perspectives of lenders on agrivoltaics. The report explores various financing models, including the viability gap funding (VGF) required to make agrivoltaics projects financially viable, highlighting the potential for significant investment in the sector.

Policy and regulatory analysis is essential for the successful implementation of agrivoltaics, with the report identifying barriers and challenges as well as key recommendations for policy and regulatory frameworks to support agrivoltaics deployment. This includes international policies, India’s policy framework, and specific recommendations to address identified barriers.

Skill gap assessment and job creation are also covered, underscoring the need for training and capacity building to support the agrivoltaics sector. The report estimates the workforce required for agrivoltaics deployment, emphasizing the potential for job creation and the importance of skilling initiatives.

In conclusion, the report on Agrivoltaics in India provides a thorough analysis of the potential, challenges, and opportunities for integrating solar PV systems with agriculture. It offers a roadmap for stakeholders to explore and implement agrivoltaics as a sustainable solution to meet India’s energy and agricultural needs, highlighting the need for supportive policies, innovative financing mechanisms, and capacity building to realize the full potential of agrivoltaics in India.

Please view the document below for more details.