Will farming under solar panels take off?

Priti GuptaTechnology ReporterHarpal DagarHarpal Dagar has been farming below photo voltaic panels for 5 years”As a farmer, you are all the time on the mercy of climate,” says Harpal Dagar who has a farm on the outskirts of Delhi.”So many occasions, we misplaced our produce because of unpredictable circumstances,” he says. However 5 years in the past he was approached by Solar Grasp, a Delhi-based solar energy agency, with a deal that may give him a way more predictable revenue.Solar Grasp proposed constructing photo voltaic panels above a few of Mr Dagar’s fields, with the panels excessive sufficient off the bottom, that he might proceed to farm beneath them.Below the 25-year deal, Mr Dagar would obtain annual funds and Solar Grasp would maintain the proceeds from the electrical energy generated.”When the photo voltaic firm first approached us… many people feared dropping our land. It sounded too good to be true – perhaps even a rip-off,” says Mr Dagar.”However at this time, I imagine it was the very best resolution I made. My revenue has tripled, and I sleep peacefully with out the stress of local weather or crop failure,” he says.Solar Grasp pays him round $1,200 (£900) per acre, per yr, plus $170 a month for work working and sustaining the photo voltaic panels.”Even the turmeric I develop on the identical land is mine to promote. How can I complain?”Siting photo voltaic panels above crops goes by the time period agrivoltaics.India would appear notably suited to such innovation. The fortunes of lots of its farmers typically hinge on an unpredictable monsoon, so a dependable revenue from a photo voltaic power agency would possibly present some welcome monetary safety.However regardless of the advantages, take up has been sluggish, round 40 initiatives are working in India in the intervening time, in accordance with the Nationwide Photo voltaic Vitality Federation of India (NSEFI), which represents India’s solar energy business.There are a number of challenges.Not all crops will develop below photo voltaic panels. Relying on the format, the panels scale back the sunshine getting by means of by between 15% and 30%. Some denser layouts will block an excessive amount of solar for staple crops together with wheat, rice, soybeans or pulses.”What works nicely are high-value crops with average or low-light wants, like inexperienced leafy greens, spices reminiscent of turmeric and ginger, and a few flowers,” says Vivek Saraf, the founder and CEO of Delhi-based SunSeed, which specialises in agrivoltaics.There’s additionally the difficulty of expense.To permit farming beneath, the photo voltaic panels have to be at the very least 11ft (3.5m) off the bottom. That makes them between 20% and 30% dearer to put in than panels on an everyday photo voltaic farm, the place they’re much nearer to the bottom.”Small farmers can’t personal these techniques. They do not have the danger urge for food or capital,” says Mr Saraf.SunSeed APVSunSeed guarantees to take the danger out of farmingThe solar energy firms need the federal government to step in with subsidies to make agrivoltaics extra engaging.”In India, the place greater than 55% of the inhabitants depends upon agriculture and cultivable land is below mounting stress, agrivoltaics gives a transformative mannequin,” says Subrahmanyam Pulipaka, CEO of NSEFI.”It reduces irrigation wants, shields crops from warmth stress, and stabilizes incomes by diversifying income streams for farmers. For rain fed and climate-vulnerable areas, agrivoltaics can play a significant function in local weather adaptation, making agriculture extra resilient to unpredictable climate patterns,” he says.SunSeed provides the farmer a number of choices, together with persevering with to farm for a hard and fast wage, or handing over all of the farming accountability to SunSeed.”Our mannequin ensures the farmer shouldn’t be uncovered to any threat. If the crop fails or there is a market subject, the loss is ours – not the farmers’,” he says.In the meantime, SunSeed has been finely tuning its system to work with totally different crops and circumstances.”We have now developed subtle agrivoltaics simulation software program,” he says.”It digitally replicates panel configurations and crop sorts to simulate how a lot mild and warmth every leaf receives, how photosynthesis is affected, and in the end how a lot yield to count on.”SunSeedAgrivoltaic initiatives are nonetheless comparatively uncommon in IndiaThere’s nonetheless warning in authorities circles over the mixture of solar energy and farming.”Agrivoltaics is promising, however we should shield each the farmer and the developer,” says Manu Srivastava, who oversees photo voltaic and agrivoltaic initiatives within the state of Madhya Pradesh.”The most important problem is contracts. A 25-year lease wants clear obligations and safety for either side. In India, long-term contract enforcement remains to be a hurdle,” says Mr Srivastava.He additionally factors out that agrivoltaics techniques are dearer than a standard ground-mounted photo voltaic farm, so making a return on the funding is more difficult.”If the farmer begins charging an excessive amount of for land and the developer has to bear excessive structural prices, then it turns into unviable,” he says.In the meanwhile India is falling behind China, the place greater than 500 initiatives are in operation, in accordance with the World Sources Institute.”It is a small starting. But when the farmer’s financial curiosity is protected, if the proper crops are chosen, and if contracts are clear and honest, there is not any purpose India can’t lead in agrivoltaics,” says Mr Srivastava.Anand JainAnand Jain has been rising strawberries and tomatoes below photo voltaic panelsAnand Jain comes from a household of farmers. He was rising medicinal herbs, however in 2024 he discovered a plot of land with no electrical energy. “That is when the concept clicked. Necessity is the mom of invention, and that is how I started experimenting with agrivoltaics.”Right now he has 14 acres of farmland below photo voltaic panels. The farm has a complete era capability of 4.5 megawatts, about the identical as a medium-sized wind turbine.Beneath he’s nonetheless experimenting with crops, he hasn’t offered any on the market but however says the standard is “promising”.”I’ve had success with strawberries and tomatoes, though cauliflower did not work out as nicely.”The challenge was funded with financial institution loans and help from the federal government, in all an funding of $2.27m.”Let me be clear – agrivoltaics is not but possible for small farmers in India,” he says.”This mannequin will solely succeed if there’s a sturdy partnership between the federal government and the personal sector.”Extra Expertise of Enterprise