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Government Identifies 0.3 Million Hectares for Renewable Energy Expansion, Supports Agrivoltaics Under PM-KUSUM

The Indian government has estimated that achieving its 500 GW renewable energy target by 2030 will require 0.3 million hectares of land, which is not considered an immediate constraint given India's total land area of 329 million hectares. This information was given by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) in a reply to Lok Sabha Parliament.

Agri-Photovoltaics to Enhance Land Efficiency

• Research from the Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI), Jodhpur: Has shown that agri-PV (agrivoltaics) can improve land efficiency, reduce evapotranspiration, and help preserve fertile soils while generating clean energy.
• PM-KUSUM Scheme, Component A: Farmers can set up decentralized, ground-mounted grid-connected solar plants in a stilted design, allowing dual land use for farming and solar energy generation.

No Plans for Solar PV Projects on Abandoned Thermal Power Plants

Despite global trends of repurposing thermal power plant sites for solar projects, the Indian government has no current proposal to use abandoned thermal plant lands for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations.

With land availability not posing an immediate challenge, India's focus remains on large-scale solar deployment and agrivoltaics as a strategy to balance renewable energy expansion with agricultural productivity.