AgriPV: Dual-purpose solution for India's energy transition and food security
Agri-photovoltaics (AgriPV) offers a promising solution for India to achieve its ambitious energy transition goals while ensuring food security, by integrating solar power generation with crop cultivation on the same land. The article details various AgriPV designs, crop selection strategies for different agro-climatic regions, and potential business models for farmers. Beyond clean energy, AgriPV provides environmental benefits like reduced evapotranspiration and crop protection. However, challenges such as high capital costs, lack of regulatory clarity, and the need for more empirical evidence hinder large-scale adoption, necessitating policy support like potential inclusion in PM-KUSUM 2.0 with viability gap funding.
Key Points
- AgriPV allows for simultaneous solar power generation and crop cultivation, addressing both energy transition and food security needs.
- Different AgriPV designs and crop selection strategies are crucial for optimizing yields across diverse agro-climatic regions in India.
- AgriPV offers economic benefits for farmers through diversified income and environmental co-benefits like water conservation and crop protection.
- High capital costs, regulatory ambiguities, and insufficient empirical evidence are major barriers to AgriPV's large-scale adoption in India.
- Policy support, including viability gap funding and integration into schemes like PM-KUSUM 2.0, is essential for scaling AgriPV projects.
Exam Facts
- India's energy transition goals: 300 GW solar capacity by 2030, net-zero emissions by 2070.
- PM-KUSUM scheme's outlay nearly doubled to ₹5,000 crore.
- Proposed 'National Agri-photovoltaics Mission' aims for a 10-GW component.
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