Key Details
The seventh AgriVoltaics World Conference is taking place in New Delhi from 21–23 October 2026, with discussions spanning farming, solar technology and project finance.
Participation: More than 1,200 delegates, including over 150 international participants, are attending the first edition hosted in the Global South.
Resources launched at the opening: MNRE’s AgriPV Policy Handbook, an India Agrivoltaics Alliance Decision-Making Tool, and a Book of Abstracts from the International Water Management Institute.
Conference agenda: An India-focused track and scientific sessions address crop productivity, project design, financing, state policy and farmer-centred business models.
Innovation platform: A pitch hub is showcasing agrivoltaics ideas to industry and investors.
One Piece of Land, Two Productive Uses
Agrivoltaics places solar panels above or alongside crops so land can produce both food and electricity. Panel height, spacing and placement matter: a design that permits cultivation and benefits one crop or climate may not suit another. The conference is examining these practical choices alongside financing and how farmers might share in electricity revenue.
MNRE has explored agrivoltaics before, including through work on crop suitability and pilot projects. The New Delhi conference raises its profile and brings policy, research and commercial participants together; it should not be read as the launch of a new subsidy or a demonstrated increase in farm income.
The New Resources Are Intended to Support Project Choices
The AgriPV Policy Handbook and Decision-Making Tool are the most concrete outputs announced at the opening. They could help organise choices about where projects are suitable and how to design them, while the research abstracts provide a basis for comparing evidence.
Policy Relevance
Agrivoltaics offers a possible way to expand solar capacity without taking agricultural land entirely out of production. Its public value depends on more than installed megawatts: states and project developers need evidence on crop yields, water use and farm access alongside electricity output. The terms under which farmers retain use of their land and receive income will be just as important to judging whether a project benefits them.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: What evidence and farmer-protection conditions should states require before supporting agrivoltaics projects on productive farmland?
Follow the Full Press Release Here: India Hosts Agrivoltaics World Conference 2026