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India could add more than 5 gigawatts (GW) of agrivoltaic capacity over the next three to four years, depending on how quickly states introduce electricity purchase tariffs and facilitate investments, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) Secretary Santosh Kumar Sarangi said on Monday.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Agrivoltaics World Conference 2026, Sarangi said, "It should be upwards of 5 gigawatts over the next 3 to 4 years." He stressed that capacity addition would depend on state governments creating favourable conditions for farmers, cooperatives and developers to invest in agrivoltaic projects. "It depends on the state's enthusiasm, the state's ability to quickly notify a feed-in tariff," he said. Agrivoltaics allows solar panels to be installed above agricultural land, enabling farmers to continue cultivation while generating electricity. Sarangi said the technology could help India expand solar installations beyond the states where most of its existing capacity is concentrated. "If you look at our solar deployment, 85% of our deployment today is confined to five states," he said, adding that Rajasthan and Gujarat account for a large share. He noted that this geographical concentration creates pressure on transmission infrastructure, as electricity generated in western states must be transported to other parts of the country. Expanding solar generation to other states could reduce dependence on long-distance transmission networks and help avoid higher interstate transmission charges. Sarangi said states with extensive agricultural land but limited availability of non-arable land could particularly benefit from agrivoltaics, as the technology enables electricity generation without compromising food production. India's theoretical agrivoltaic potential is estimated at 12 terawatts, although Sarangi cautioned that it was too early to make firm projections about its deployment at that scale. He said further studies would be required to identify suitable crops and commercially viable models across different agro-climatic regions. The upcoming conference, scheduled for October 2123 in New Delhi, will focus on moving agrivoltaics from pilot projects towards large-scale commercial deployment. (ANI)
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