Agri-Voltaics: India Has 36 Solar-Farming Projects of 37.54 MW

Agrivoltaics, also called agrisolar or dual-use solar, grows crops and generates solar electricity on the same piece of land. A backgrounder issued by the Press Information Bureau on 2 November 2026 sets out where India stands on this idea, which treats farmland as a source of both food and power rather than one or the other.

Why it matters for Indian farming

Agriculture supports roughly 46.1 per cent of the population, and the Gross Value Added of the agriculture and allied sector is estimated at Rs 52.08 lakh crore in 2025-26. Land Use Statistics for 2023-24 put the reported area at 306.96 million hectares, of which about 55 per cent is agricultural land. The net sown area is 138.99 million hectares and the gross cropped area 217.88 million hectares. That land base is what makes co-location worth attempting at scale.

How a system is built

• Elevated solar structures: panels are mounted high enough for sunlight and rain to reach the crop below, and for farm equipment to pass underneath
• Partial shading: the panels shield plants from extreme heat and cut evaporation from the soil, which helps in hot or dry regions
• Dual land productivity: the same plot yields a crop or supports livestock while supplying power for farm work, with surplus sold to the grid

Where India has reached

As of August 2025 the country had 36 operational agrivoltaic projects with an installed capacity of 37.54 megawatts, and 10 pilot projects under development across different agro-climatic zones, using elevated structures, interspace layouts and tracking systems. Estimates place national potential between 3,000 GW and nearly 14,000 GW. On income, annual earnings in some cases could rise from around Rs 60,000 an acre to more than Rs 1 lakh an acre. A GIS-based national screening identified 47.35 million hectares of restricted cropland as suitable after environmental, agronomic and technical filters.

Which states lead

Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh together account for nearly half of the estimated generation potential, helped by cropland availability, solar resource and agro-climatic conditions. Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Bihar and West Bengal show moderate potential. Fruits, vegetables, spices and medicinal plants are the crops judged most compatible with panels overhead.

Government support