Solar on your farmland: PM-KUSUM, agrivoltaics and what farmers actually earn

If you own farmland within a few kilometres of an electricity substation, someone has probably already asked whether you'd like to put solar on it. That conversation has changed in the last couple of years, because government guidelines now support solar plants that sit on stilts above working fields rather than replacing them.

This guide explains how that works under PM-KUSUM and what to think through before signing anything. We're farmers, not lawyers or financial advisers, so treat it as a starting point and check current terms with your state's nodal agency.

What is PM-KUSUM?

PM-KUSUM (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan) is the central government's scheme for solar power in agriculture. It has three parts:

• Component A: small grid-connected solar plants on farmers' land, selling power to the discom
• Component B: standalone solar pumps
• Component C: solarising existing grid-connected pumps

Component A is the one that matters for agrivoltaics.

Component A in plain terms

Under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy's guidelines dated 17 January 2024:

• The target is 10,000 MW of decentralised plants.
• Plants are typically 500 kW to 2 MW, on land within 5 km of a substation.
• They can be ground-mounted or stilt-mounted. Stilt-mounted means the panels are raised so farming can carry on underneath.
• They can be set up by individual farmers, groups of farmers, cooperatives, panchayats, FPOs or water user associations.
• If the farmer can't invest, the land can be leased to a developer, who builds and runs the plant.
• The discom buys the power at a pre-set levelised tariff decided by the state regulator.

Three ways a farmer can take part

A conventional ground-mounted plant usually takes the land out of farming for the life of the lease. A raised agrivoltaic plant lets you keep a crop income on top of the power or lease income, but the structure costs more, so the tariff or lease rent may be lower.

What can the land earn?

There's no single answer, and anyone giving you one without seeing your site is guessing. As a research data point, ICAR-CAZRI's agrivoltaic trial in Jodhpur estimated combined income from power and crops at around ₹7.5 to 8.0 lakh per acre per year, at its own costs and assumptions. Your figure will depend on the tariff, your financing, the crop and how much of the plant's output you can actually export.

Questions to ask before you sign

1. How long is the lease, and what happens at the end? Who removes the structure?
2. Is the rent fixed or does it rise? Over 25 years, inflation matters.
3. Can I farm underneath, and who decides what I grow?
4. How high are the panels and how far apart? Can a tractor get through?
5. Who pays for damage to the structure from farm work, and to the crop from maintenance?
6. Does the land stay classified as agricultural? India has no national agri-PV definition yet, so check how your state treats land use and tax.
7. Who handles washing water and run-off from the panels?

Where we come in

We grow high-value crops under protection and are building an agrivoltaic blueberry greenhouse of our own. If you're planning a solar plant on your land and want the crop side to actually work, talk to us. See also which crops grow well under solar panels.