In the heart of Maharashtra’s Parbhani district, something quietly radical is happening. Amid five sun-drenched acres, ginger, turmeric, green gram, and okra stretch toward the sky — not alone, but under the soft shadow of towering solar panels. It’s a scene that seems plucked from the future. And for Govind Rasave, the 25-year-old farm manager, this future is already here.
Every morning, Govind walks through the green corridors beneath the panels, performing what he calls his land check. It’s a blend of agriculture and awe — soil moisture, irrigation, crop health, panel performance — all monitored under the towering steel skeletons harvesting the sun. The yield is just as good as our traditional fields, he says. Sometimes, better.
This is agrivoltaics — a system that blends agriculture with solar energy production, a symbiotic dance of food and power on the same land. And in Parbhani, a pilot project by SunSeed APV, Kanoda Energy, GIZ German Development Cooperation, and Renew Power is turning this dream into a dusty, green, electric reality.
But Govind’s optimism isn’t just about crop growth. It’s about possibility. It’s about farmers like him becoming front-row spectators — and participants — in a rural revolution.
A Revolution in Rows
India is on a mission: to hit 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. With only about 100 GW in solar so far, the pressure’s on. But where do we plant all those solar panels in a land bursting with farms?
Enter agrivoltaics — a technicolor solution to a black-and-white problem.
Instead of eating up farmland, these elevated solar panels share the space with crops. They throw a little shade, provide natural temperature regulation, and in many cases, help the plants beneath grow better, not worse.
And it’s not just in Parbhani. Across Maharashtra — and India — agrivoltaic pilots are sprouting.
In Nashik, Sahyadri Farms is pioneering a one-acre setup featuring 250 kW bifacial panels, suspended at 3.75 meters. The dual use of land helps farmers earn rent, and horticulture crops like grapes benefit from the structure, explains Mahesh Shelke, Programme Director.
The model is drawing attention — and rightly so. For farmers struggling with inconsistent power and uncertain rainfall, agrivoltaics offers a promise: resilience, revenue, and reliability.
Crops, Cattle, and Kilowatts
In Issapur, just outside Delhi, a 2.5 MW plant demonstrates another twist — solar grazing. Livestock roam beneath the panels, munching on planted feed, while farmers harvest energy above and fodder below.
Suddenly, says Vimal Panjwani of AgriVijay, a single acre doesn’t just grow food. It grows futures.
AgriVijay, a startup championing renewable tech for rural communities, is betting big on vertical panels — solar fences, essentially — that preserve over 90 percent of land for cultivation. This vertical setup is a game changer, says Vimal. It optimizes sunlight use, preserves soil, and matches the peak energy needs of households.
The numbers back him up. Traditional farming might yield ₹50,000 per acre annually. Agrivoltaics can match that — just from leasing the land. Add the crop yield, and farmers are looking at a doubled income, minus the risk.
The risk, says Vivek Saraf of SunSeed APV, is ours. Farmers are partners, not tenants.
Reimagining the Microclimate
But the innovation doesn’t stop with panel placement. The next frontier is climate control.
In India’s scorching sun, crops often wither under extreme heat. Elevated solar panels naturally lower soil temperatures, creating a cooler, controlled microclimate beneath. We’re already seeing healthier plants, Vivek adds. Agrivoltaics isn’t just dual-use. It’s smart farming.
And the ingenuity doesn’t stop there. Cochin International Airport runs interspace farming between panels. In Gujarat’s Sardoi, water used to clean solar panels is recycled for irrigation. In Jodhpur and Jamnagar, crops like calabash, coriander, and cluster beans grow happily beneath elevated panels. It’s a growing tapestry of innovation, rooted in necessity and blooming with opportunity.
Sowing Skepticism, Reaping Trust
Still, not all farmers are sold. For many, solar panels on farmland feel like an invasion, a land grab cloaked in technology. Experts acknowledge this skepticism — and argue it must be met with transparency, trust, and shared success.
It’s about seeing, says Vimal. When one village sees another profit from agrivoltaics — lower electricity bills, extra income — the model spreads naturally.
Group installations are a start. So are cooperatives. The solution isn’t just solar tech, Vimal explains. It’s social tech — helping farmers trust the system.
The Bifocal Future
Agrivoltaics, at its heart, is a bifocal vision: one lens on the land, the other on the light. It doesn’t ask farmers to choose between food and energy — it lets them have both. It transforms land from a single-purpose asset to a multi-dimensional resource. A food-energy-water nexus powered by sunbeams and green shoots.
And if pilot projects are any sign, this isn’t just an experiment. It’s the beginning of a seismic shift — not just in farming, but in how we think about land, livelihoods, and energy.
So, the next time you see a solar panel stretching skyward over a field of okra or turmeric, don’t just think electricity.
Think revolution.