PM-KUSUM 2.0 announcement likely soon; agrivoltaics to get dedicated component
The government indicated that PM-KUSUM 2.0, the next phase of the flagship solar-agriculture scheme launched in 2019, could be announced soon.
The new phase is expected to carry a dedicated agrivoltaics component, distinct from the scheme's existing three components.
Agrivoltaics — installing solar panels above farmland so that crops continue to grow beneath or between them — allows the same plot to generate both food and electricity.
The scheme's original goal, expanding solar energy use in agriculture, remains unchanged; the new component formalises co-location of panels and crops as a distinct funding track.
Agrivoltaics — Definition and Land-Use Mechanics
Agrivoltaics (also called agri-photovoltaics or agrisolar) is the concurrent use of the same parcel of land for both crop cultivation and solar power generation. Panels are typically mounted 2–3 metres above ground level, elevated and spaced to let sunlight, rainfall, and farm machinery reach the crop below, while the panels themselves benefit from cooling and reduced dust due to the vegetation beneath them. The concept originated in the 1980s in Germany and has since been adapted for shade-tolerant and semi-shade-tolerant crops worldwide.
Key Details
- Reported land-use efficiency gains from dual use can be substantial — some Indian pilot studies cite productivity increases (measured via the Land Equivalent Ratio) of up to roughly 60–180% compared to single use of the same land for either crop or solar alone.
- Benefits cited include reduced soil moisture evaporation (partial shading), moderated microclimate for shade-tolerant crops, and a direct additional income stream for the landholder from power sales.
- India already has functioning agrivoltaic farms outside government schemes — for instance, a privately developed 16-acre agrivoltaic farm in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, grows crops such as strawberries and lettuce beneath elevated panels.
The proposed PM-KUSUM 2.0 component would be the first time agrivoltaics gets its own dedicated funding and design track within a central government scheme, rather than being an incidental outcome of Component-A ground-mounted plants.
PM-KUSUM (2019) — the Base Scheme Being Expanded
PM-KUSUM (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan) was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 19 February 2019, under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, to expand solar energy use in the agriculture sector. It has three components — Component-A (decentralised ground-mounted solar plants up to 2 MW on farmers'/cooperatives' land), Component-B (standalone solar-powered irrigation pumps replacing diesel pumps), and Component-C (solarisation of existing grid-connected agriculture pumps, funded 30% Centre + 30% State + 40% farmer).
Key Details
- The scheme currently targets 34,800 MW of added solar capacity by March 2026, with Central Financial Assistance of about ₹34,422 crore.
- Component-A plants — the closest existing analogue to agrivoltaics — already permit co-location of solar generation with agricultural land use, but without a dedicated crop-optimisation mandate; PM-KUSUM 2.0 would formalise this pairing.
- The scheme's core aim of turning the "Annadata" into an "Urjadata" (food provider into energy provider) is retained and extended by the agrivoltaics component.
Agrivoltaics is being layered onto — not replacing — the existing PM-KUSUM framework, so its funding pattern and DISCOM power-purchase mechanics are likely to draw on the Component-A/C precedents.
Renewable Energy Land-Use Policy — Solar Parks vs. Decentralised/Dual-Use Models
Utility-scale solar parks developed under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM, launched 2010) and subsequent solar park schemes require large contiguous tracts of land, which has historically created land-acquisition friction, particularly on cultivable land. Agrivoltaics is promoted as a policy response to this land-use conflict: it allows solar capacity addition without removing land from agricultural production, an important consideration in a land-scarce, agriculture-dependent economy.
Key Details
- India's overall non-fossil capacity target is 500 GW by 2030 (announced as part of the "Panchamrit" pledge at COP26, Glasgow, 1 November 2021).
- Solar park schemes typically encourage use of wasteland/degraded land to minimise conflict with agriculture; agrivoltaics extends the same logic to land that is actively under cultivation.
- Distinguishing utility-scale (grid-feeding, large-capacity, land-intensive) solar from decentralised/dual-use (farm-based, smaller-capacity, land-sharing) solar is a recurring conceptual distinction in India's renewable energy policy.
A dedicated agrivoltaics component under PM-KUSUM 2.0 represents a shift of central policy focus toward dual-use, land-sharing solar models as a complement to utility-scale solar parks, in pursuit of the same 2030 non-fossil capacity target.
- PM-KUSUM launched/approved by CCEA: 19 February 2019; nodal ministry: MNRE.
- Agrivoltaic panel mounting height (typical): ~2–3 metres above ground.
- Reported land productivity gains from dual use: up to roughly 60–180% depending on crop and configuration (site-specific).
- Current PM-KUSUM target: 34,800 MW solar capacity by March 2026; CFA ≈ ₹34,422 crore.
- Component-C funding split: 30% Centre + 30% State + 40% farmer.
- India's 2030 non-fossil capacity target: 500 GW (Panchamrit, COP26, November 2021).
- Example scale reference: a 16-acre private agrivoltaic farm in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, reportedly produces about 25,000 units of electricity daily alongside crop cultivation.