{"id":42722,"date":"2025-05-05T19:24:52","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T13:54:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=42722"},"modified":"2025-05-05T19:25:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T13:55:14","slug":"agriphotovoltaics-integrating-solar-energy-with-agriculture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/05-05-2025\/agriphotovoltaics-integrating-solar-energy-with-agriculture","title":{"rendered":"Agriphotovoltaics: Integrating Solar Energy with Agriculture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Renewable Energy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>World Solar Day<\/strong>, as observed on <strong>3rd May,<\/strong> highlighted the transformative potential of solar energy, particularly in agriculture.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About the Agriphotovoltaics<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Agriphotovoltaics (APVs) offer a <strong>dual solution<\/strong> for <strong>food and energy production<\/strong> by <strong>integrating solar panels with farming.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It maximizes land-use efficiency, allowing crops to grow beneath elevated solar panels while generating electricity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Origins of Agriphotovoltaics:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It was first proposed by German scientists <strong>Adolf Goetzberger and Armin Zastrow<\/strong> in 1981.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The concept involves elevating solar modules to allow sunlight to reach crops while harnessing solar power.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Solar Energy in India: Key Achievements<\/strong><br>&#8211; <strong>100 GW Solar Capacity Milestone:<\/strong> India\u2019s solar sector has <strong>grown 3450%<\/strong> over the past decade, rising from 2.82 GW in 2014 to 100.33 GW on January 31, 2025.<br>&#8211; <strong>Record-Breaking Solar Installations:<\/strong> In 2024, India added 24.5 GW of solar capacity, more than double the installations of 2023.<br>1. Utility-scale solar capacity saw a 2.8x increase, with 18.5 GW installed in 2024.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Benefits for Farmers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>APVs create <strong>microclimatic conditions<\/strong> that reduce water evaporation and protect crops from extreme heat, improving agricultural resilience.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Farmers<strong> can sell excess solar power back to the grid<\/strong> at a predetermined feed-in tariff, ensuring stable revenue streams.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>APV Success Stories in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Najafgarh, Delhi Pilot Project:<\/strong> A farmer leased his land to a solar company for \u20b91 lakh per acre annually, securing stable income.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If farmers cultivate shade-loving crops like potatoes, tomatoes, and turmeric, their income could rise to \u20b91.5 lakh per acre, a sixfold increase over traditional farming.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Scaling Agriphotovoltaics Through Policy Support<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Incorporating APVs in<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/15-01-2025\/recalibrating-pm-kusum-scheme\"><strong> PM-KUSUM<\/strong><\/a><strong>:<\/strong> India currently lacks a designated agrivoltaics policy, but <strong>revising the<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/15-01-2025\/recalibrating-pm-kusum-scheme\"><strong> PM-KUSUM <\/strong><\/a><strong>agricultural solarisation program<\/strong> to include APVs could accelerate adoption.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Grid-connected solar power plants under PM-KUSUM should implement <strong>dual-use models,<\/strong> allowing simultaneous crop cultivation and solar generation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Financial Incentives for Farmers:<\/strong> Expanding credit guarantees and subsidies for APV installations will help <strong>smallholder farmers <\/strong><em>(own less than 2 hectares of land)<\/em> adopt solar farming.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Increasing <strong>feed-in tariffs (FiTs)<\/strong> for solar power generated on agricultural land could improve investment viability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Capacity-Building and Technical Training:<\/strong> Government-backed programs should train farmers in APV management, helping them integrate solar energy into traditional farming practices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges and Future Prospects<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Limited To Pilot Projects:<\/strong> APVs are limited to pilot projects by research institutes and private developers.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Expanding APVs requires policy support, financial incentives, and awareness campaigns to encourage adoption.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Infrastructure and Investment Needs: <\/strong>Farmers need access to financing for APV installations.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Government subsidies and public-private partnerships could accelerate adoption.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Policy Support for APVs: <\/strong>India\u2019s solar energy policies should integrate APVs into national agricultural strategies.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Expanding research and pilot programs will help refine APV models for different climates and crops.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/energy-and-environment\/world-solar-day-from-ploughs-to-panels-cultivating-a-solar-powered-future\/article69534394.ece\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: TH<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">World Solar Day, as observed on 3rd May, highlighted the transformative potential of solar energy, particularly in agriculture.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>About the Agriphotovoltaics<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Agriphotovoltaics (APVs) offer a dual solution for food and energy production by integrating solar panels with farming.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">It maximizes land-use efficiency, allowing crops to grow beneath elevated solar panels while generating electricity.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/05-05-2025\/agriphotovoltaics-integrating-solar-energy-with-agriculture\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42722"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42733,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42722\/revisions\/42733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}