Agrivoltaics is the simultaneous use of land for agriculture and photovoltaic (PV) power generation. The concept comes from agroforestry, which involves growing plants, grasses, and shrubs that require less sunlight under the cover of trees.
In agrivoltaics, solar panels replace trees. Agrivoltaics was first tested in Germany and Japan in 2004. Later, it was tried in the US, China, Italy, Malaysia, Egypt and Chile.
India has 14 pilot projects spread across the country from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to Maharashtra and Kerala. Agrivoltaics is in the nascent technology demonstration stage in India.
The potential is huge since agricultural land accounts for 60.4 per cent of India’s total surface area of 32,87,263 sq km. Dual land use could solve the concerns about food security and energy security. Electricity generated in the fields, besides supplying to the grid, could also provide power to local communities without any transmission loss.
The main barrier to the wide-scale adoption of agrivoltaics is its capital cost. The raised mounting structure required is costlier because it requires better-quality materials that can resist wind turbulence than a conventional ground-mounted solar power plant. Studies reveal that the additional costs could range between 1.3 and 2 times per kW, raising concerns about financial sustainability.
Agrivoltaics is also a sustainable solution to water scarcity. Solar panels can be employed to harvest rainwater, which could be used for irrigation and panel cleaning. Moreover, crop coverage between solar arrays can check soil erosion.
However, many experts believe that India must find innovative solutions to achieve net zero by 2070. Agrivoltaics could be one of them.