Integrating Farmers into India's Solar Boom through Agri-Photovoltaics

Gist Despite massive growth in utility and rooftop solar, rural integration remains weak due to a lack of capital subsidies under Component A of the PM-KUSUM scheme. Experts are advocating for a shift toward Agri-photovoltaics Agri-PV —installing elevated solar panels over farmland—to allow simultaneous food and energy production. This dual-use model could increase farmer incomes tenfold while drastically cutting the state’s massive agricultural power subsidy burden. Background India's solar capacity has expanded sixtyfold since 2014, currently driven largely by utility-scale parks 74% on degraded lands and rooftop solar 20% via the heavily subsidised PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana . However, rural solarisation relies on the PM-KUSUM scheme, originally envisioned for solar pumps. Its Component A , which permits farmers to build up to 2 MW solar plants on their land, currently offers no capital subsidy. Furthermore, conventional ground-mounted solar on agricultural land forces a direct trade-off between energy generation and food security. Key Pointers Resolving the Food vs. Energy Trade-off: By elevating solar panels to 11 feet, Agri-PV allows shade-tolerant cultivation below, transforming sunlight into a "third crop" without…