Agrivoltaics can resolve the land-use conflict between food security and the clean energy transition. Critically examine the scope and challenges of this in India.

Agrivoltaics (Agri-PV) raises solar panels on stilts so crops grow underneath, letting one plot yield both food and power. In October 2026, India hosted the 7th AgriVoltaics World Conference, the first held in the Global South [1]. The promise is real, but at farm level it remains largely unproven.

Scope

• Land-use efficiency: a TERI study cited by the MNRE Minister finds ~47.5 million ha (about 30% of cropland) technically suitable [2].
• Dual income: PM-KUSUM Component A already permits stilt-mounted plants up to 2 MW on farmers' land [3], turning Annadata into Urjadata.
• Climate-smart farming: panel shade moderates microclimate and cuts evaporation; ICAR–IWMI agro-climatic zoning aims at evidence-based siting [1].
• Policy momentum: a dedicated agrivoltaics component is planned in PM-KUSUM's next phase [2]; FPO-led models can aggregate smallholders [1].

Challenges

• Poor uptake: Component A installed only 641 MW against a 10,000 MW target by July 2025 [4], roughly 6% achievement [5].
• Financing gap: unlike solar pumps, Component A plants get no central financial assistance, which the Estimates Committee called a key barrier [4].
• Regulatory friction: land-use conversion costs treat a crop field like an industrial site [4].
• Groundwater risk: Rajasthan has 164 over-exploited blocks, with extraction at 140% of recharge; near-free solar pumping can deepen depletion [6].
• Food output unverified: India's norm prescribes panel height, not minimum crop yield [3]. This is why the Estimates Committee sought an impact study on crops and incomes before scale-up [4].

Agrivoltaics can therefore ease, but not yet resolve, the food–energy land conflict. PM-KUSUM 2.0 should pair capital subsidy and cheap credit with State exemptions from land conversion. It should tie support to a minimum crop yield. In stressed blocks, it should favour grid-connected designs, which give farmers a reason to sell power rather than over-pump [6]. With these changes, Agri-PV can advance SDG 2 and SDG 7 together and make the farmer an equal partner in India's energy transition.