Odisha to Target 1 GW Agrivoltaics by 2030 Under New Policy

The second day of the AgriVoltaics World Conference 2026 was given over to state policy, new technology and climate finance. A ministerial track jointly organised by the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water brought energy and agriculture ministers of Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar onto one stage to set out how each state plans to spread agrivoltaics, the practice of raising a crop and generating solar power on the same land.

Odisha's policy announcement

Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo said Odisha is giving final shape to a dedicated Agrivoltaics Policy 2026 with a target of 1 GW by 2030. Under the proposal at least 90 per cent of a project site must stay cultivable, farmer consent and crop insurance are protected, and a farmer may either own the project or lease the land and keep farming it. To draw investment the state will offer power purchase agreements of twenty-five years through GRIDCO, along with grid connectivity and investment incentives.

What the other states said

• Uttar Pradesh Energy Minister Arvind Kumar Sharma pointed to the state's crop diversity and said Green Energy Corridor-III will strengthen power evacuation, adding that small and marginal farmers hold nearly four fifths of the holdings there.
• Uttar Pradesh Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi said all sixteen lakh agricultural tubewells whose electricity bills have been waived will be solarised, with training routed through Krishi Vigyan Kendras and agricultural universities.
• Madhya Pradesh Minister Rakesh Shukla said cultivation under solar panels has started at several sites and tendering for battery storage is complete, with the state observing 2026 as its Year of Farmer Welfare.
• Bihar Energy Minister Shailesh Kumar Mandal said work has moved ahead on about 2,700 agricultural feeders, for which the state has approved money to solarise them.

Technology, finance and youth

An Agrivoltaics Pitch-Hub curated by the National Solar Energy Federation of India let start-ups present dual-use ideas to a jury drawn from the National Institute of Solar Energy, the National Institute of Bio-Energy, venture funds and industry. Fraunhofer ISE and Sunseed APV showed solar tracking, dynamic panel tilting, semi-transparent photovoltaic modules and micro-climate soil sensors built for hot and dry conditions. A dialogue hosted by the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce drew NTPC Green Energy and First Solar among others, while a roundtable with the World Bank, KfW, the European Investment Bank and IREDA examined risk-mitigation tools, concessional lending and blended finance. Actor and United Nations Development Programme India Youth Champion Sanjana Sanghi spoke on food security, renewable energy and rural youth livelihoods, and the day closed with a digital poster gallery of working agrivoltaic projects.