Koraput, Sept 19 [UDN}:Odisha: In a significant step towards combining agriculture with renewable energy, a 1-megawatt farmer-led Agri-PV (Agrivoltaic) pilot project is set to be launched in Koraput district of Odisha. The project is being developed on a model that will allow agricultural activities and clean solar power generation to take place simultaneously on the same land.
Under the innovative Agri-PV model, solar panels will be installed above the farmland while crops continue to be cultivated underneath, enabling the land to serve a dual purpose—food production as well as renewable energy generation.
The project is particularly significant because of its farmer-centric ownership structure. Unlike conventional solar projects where private companies generally lease agricultural land from farmers and provide them with fixed rent, the Koraput project will place the farmers at the centre of the ownership and benefit-sharing mechanism.
An FPO (Farmer Producer Organisation) comprising 513 women members and five landowners will have a stake in the project. The farmer-led organisation will participate in the economic benefits generated from both agricultural production and solar electricity generation.
This model is expected to create an additional and potentially more diversified source of income for participating farmers while allowing agricultural activities to continue on the land. Instead of treating farmland solely as a site for solar infrastructure, the Agri-PV approach seeks to integrate renewable energy production with farming.
Another important component of the project is the long-term power-sale arrangement. A 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) has been signed with GRIDCO, providing a long-term framework for the sale of electricity generated by the solar project.
The initiative therefore represents more than just the installation of solar panels on agricultural land. Its distinctive feature lies in the fact that farmers are positioned not merely as landowners receiving compensation, but as participants and owners in the renewable-energy enterprise itself.
The Koraput pilot could also provide an important demonstration of how agricultural land can support multiple productive uses. If the model proves economically and technically viable, similar farmer-owned Agri-PV projects could potentially be explored in other parts of Odisha and the country.
With crop cultivation continuing beneath elevated solar panels and renewable electricity being generated above, the Koraput initiative brings together two major development priorities—agriculture and clean energy.
The project is thus being viewed as an emerging example of a model in which farmers can have a direct economic stake in the clean-energy transition, while agricultural production continues alongside solar power generation.
In simple terms: farmers will not only own the land on which the project stands—they will also have ownership in the solar power project operating above their fields.
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