Agrivoltaics

“Solar manufacturing and technology must be democratized to help developing countries. Empowering the least developed countries and small island developing states should be a top priority,” said prime minister Narendra Modi in his inaugural address at the first International Solar Festival 2024.

A BloombergNEF study estimates India’s energy sector investment and spending under its net-zero scenario at $12.4 trillion over 2024-50, 34% (or about $3 trillion) higher than in the economic transition scenario.

Agrivoltaics, the innovative practice of co-locating agriculture and photovoltaic (PV) systems, is revolutionizing sustainable land use and energy production. By harnessing the synergy between agriculture and solar energy, agrivoltaics offers a transformative solution to address the challenges of food security, water scarcity, and climate change. This article explores the burgeoning agrivoltaics market, its potential benefits, challenges, and future outlook.

Researchers have conducted a field study across two growing seasons, growing different kinds of vegetables under three types of modules with 40%, 5%, and 0% transparency. Their work is the first replicated research experiment that evaluates module transparency in an irrigated vegetable field setting.

The choice between distributed and utility-scale solar often comes down to balancing these benefits based on the specific context, goals, and constraints of a project or region. In the Indian context, a balanced approach that leverages the strengths of both models is essential.

Indian researchers have compared the performance of an agrivoltaic system to monofacial and bifacial rooftop PV systems, and have found that the agrivoltaics setup had a shorter payback time and lower levelized cost of energy. Their analysis of performance considered panel temperature, power output, land equivalent ratio, and reliability.

National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI) expects budget to accelerate renewable energy uptake across MSMEs and hard-to-abate industrial sectors.

Oriana Power has secured the order to set up a 25 MWp agrivoltaic plant for offtake by a real estate developer under group net metering policy in Delhi. This project is set to become the largest agrivoltaic installation in India, combining solar power generation with large-scale farming.

Agri-Light has launched its first pilot agrivoltaic project, using a two-axis solar installation on a rail system to move solar panels horizontally above a vineyard in the Negev Desert. The results are due this summer, and the company plans to build commercial projects in Israel and Spain next year.

A new report says that while the national-level transition towards clean electricity is progressing well in India, it is far more uneven at the state level. It highlights the need for states to strengthen regulatory frameworks and develop transition plans.