Renewable energy is playing an increasingly significant role in strengthening India’s rural economy by improving farm productivity, reducing irrigation costs and expanding access to reliable power for farmers, Pralhad Joshi said while addressing the 4th National Agro Renewable Energy Summit in New Delhi.
Pralhad Joshi highlighted that renewable energy technologies are now reaching farms and households across the country, enabling farmers to irrigate their fields using solar power and allowing households to generate electricity through rooftop solar systems. He said the transition represents not only a shift in the energy sector but also a transformation of the rural economy.
Emphasising the growing role of solar irrigation, Pralhad Joshi said solar pumps are helping farmers reduce dependence on diesel and gain access to reliable daytime irrigation. Diesel based irrigation can cost nearly ₹6,790 per acre for wheat and more than ₹8,000 per acre for crops such as cotton. Solar pumps can help farmers save between ₹5,000 and ₹6,500 per acre annually while also lowering emissions.
Under the PM KUSUM scheme, more than 10 lakh standalone solar agricultural pumps have been installed across the country and more than 13 lakh grid connected agricultural pumps have been solarised. The initiative is enabling farmers to become energy producers in addition to food producers, he said.
Pralhad Joshi also announced that the government is preparing PM KUSUM 2.0, which will include a dedicated 10 gigawatt Agri PV component. The initiative will promote agrivoltaic systems that combine solar power generation with crop cultivation on the same land, enabling decentralised renewable energy production in rural areas.
Highlighting the potential of agrivoltaic systems, Pralhad Joshi said integrating solar panels with agriculture can significantly increase land productivity and provide farmers with an additional income stream. Estimates suggest that India’s agrivoltaic potential could range from about 3,000 gigawatts to nearly 14,000 gigawatts.
Studies also indicate that agrivoltaic systems can substantially improve farm incomes. In some cases, annual earnings from land can increase from around ₹60,000 per acre to more than ₹1 lakh per acre when income from electricity generation is combined with crop cultivation.
Pralhad Joshi also highlighted progress under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, noting that more than 31 lakh households have already benefited from rooftop solar installations, enabling families to generate their own electricity and reduce power bills.
Providing an overview of India’s renewable energy progress, Pralhad Joshi said the country’s non fossil fuel capacity has increased from about 81 gigawatts in 2014 to nearly 275 gigawatts today. More than half of India’s installed electricity capacity now comes from non fossil sources.
Solar capacity has expanded from about 2.8 gigawatts in 2014 to nearly 143 gigawatts, wind capacity has grown from around 21 gigawatts to about 55 gigawatts and biopower capacity has increased from 8.1 gigawatts to about 12 gigawatts.
He said India’s target of achieving 500 gigawatts of non fossil fuel capacity will be supported by millions of decentralised renewable energy installations across farms, rooftops and rural enterprises.
Addressing the summit, Shripad Yesso Naik highlighted the potential of agrivoltaics as a key solution for the country’s energy transition. He said agrivoltaic systems allow simultaneous crop cultivation and clean electricity generation on the same land, improving land use efficiency while addressing competing land demands for renewable energy expansion.
Shripad Yesso Naik emphasised the need for stronger collaboration between government, industry, research institutions and financial organisations to scale up agrivoltaic deployment and develop affordable technologies that can be widely adopted by farmers.
The summit was organised by the National Solar Energy Federation of India in collaboration with the India Agrivoltaics Alliance. The event brought together policymakers, industry leaders, farmer representatives and renewable energy stakeholders to discuss ways to integrate renewable energy with agriculture and accelerate clean energy adoption in rural India.
