{
  "id": 2684925,
  "title": "Sowing the seeds of a solar power intervention",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/sowing-the-seeds-of-a-solar-power-intervention",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-23T00:16:53.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/rajasthan/sowing-the-seeds-of-a-solar-power-intervention/article71378860.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Kojadmal Jat's solar farm stands out from the neighboring ones in Kundanpura, a village in Bassi block, Rajasthan. Unlike the surrounding fields covered in rows of ground-mounted solar panels, Jat's land hosts thriving maize crops beneath the dark glass of the panels reflecting afternoon light. The 60-year-old farmer collaborated with researchers at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) on an agrophotovoltaics (APV) project, which integrates solar power generation with agriculture on the same land.\n\nDubbed the first farmer-owned APV in Rajasthan, Jat's farm spans nearly 3 acres, roughly twice the size of a cricket ground. Generating a capacity of 600 kW, the installation provides daytime irrigation power for approximately 250 farms, creating a steady source of income for Jat. In 2023, inspired by his neighbors' solar-panel-covered fields, Jat opted for the predictability of monthly income over the uncertainties of each harvest. This decision shed light on the dilemma at the heart of the energy transition: should productive farmlands generate food or electricity?\n\nIndia ranks 102nd out of 123 countries on the 2025 Global Hunger Index, and converting farmland to solar power plants could intensify food insecurity. APV addresses this concern by employing partial shading from solar panels to reduce heat stress and evaporation, creating a more stable microclimate that benefits farming in dry and arid regions. Laxmi Sharma, a research associate with the ICRIER team, assisted Jat in exploring the APV model. When shown how he could combine farming with solar energy generation, Jat was delighted by the prospect of diversifying his farm income and strengthening resilience to climatic and market risks.\n\nNevertheless, the economics of APV can be a barrier for many smallholder farmers. While APV can increase farmers' annual returns per acre from approximately ₹3 lakh to ₹4 lakh, the elevated mounting structures add nearly ₹35 lakh more than a conventional installation. For many, this cost is simply unaffordable. Jat, who had previously earned close to ₹40,000 a year from farming, now enjoys an annual income nearly eightfold, totaling about ₹3 lakh.\n\nIn 2024, a team of researchers in New Delhi embarked on a study to evaluate the viability of a farmer-owned agrivoltaics model. Laxmi Sharma, who joined ICRIER in 2024 for this project, explained that only around two dozen agrivoltaics pilots existed in India at the time, most led by academic institutions or private developers. Anand Jain, an MTech graduate from IIT Roorkee and a farmer since the 1990s, had independently studied agrivoltaic projects in Europe, collecting data on panel height, spacing, and the microclimate created beneath them. Jain reasoned that the panels should adapt to the farm, not force the farm out, leading to the creation of a farmer-led model that ICRIER would later investigate more systematically.\n\nThe ICRIER team distilled its findings in an April 2025 report titled 'Solar as a Third Crop to Augment Farmers' Income' and sought to test the idea in the field. Rajasthan, with its highest solar irradiation and leading implementation of the PM-KUSUM scheme, was the natural choice for the study. Partnering with a grassroots organization, the team identified Kojadmal Jat as a willing farmer to test the model. Trust had to be built through multiple conversations, as Jat was initially cautious about the ambitious scheme and the associated risks. However, the team's prior work with farmers on a net-house project, coupled with their firsthand involvement, helped establish trust between Jat and the researchers. The final challenge was retrofitting an operational solar plant, as many individual farmers preferred to keep their existing steady income rather than invest in a new venture.",
  "summary": "India’s emerging agrivoltaics model enables farmers to grow crops beneath solar panels, offering a way to generate electricity while diversifying income. Vanita Bhatnagar speaks to farmers and agri-researchers to find out how high upfront costs, financing constraints, and uneven policy support are preventing more farmers from taking up projects beyond the pilots",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}