On November 25, 2021, the Indo-German Roundtable on Agriphotovoltaics (APV) provided a dedicated dialogue platform for high-level policy makers, financial institutions, industry and research organizations from both Germany and India to deepen the conversation on the potential of APV development in India. The roundtable was inaugurated by the Minister of State of New and Renewable Energy Mr. Bhagwanth Khuba, Government of India and Professor Dr. Warning, Director General, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The roundtable was joined by representatives from KfW bank, Fraunhofer – Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE), the National Solar Federation of India (NSEFI), and private sector representative SunSeed APV.

Minister Khuba initiated the roundtable with his welcome remarks and appreciated the initiative to utilize the potential of Integrated PV in India via APV technology. Dr. Warning added to Minister Khuba’s support to the roundtable and emphasized that India has a great solar potential and APV is a potent solution to resolve a major trade-off of solar namely land-use conflict. 

The welcome remarks were followed by the kind words of Mr. Pranav Mehta and Mr. Subrahmanyam Pulipaka from NSEFI, whereby they elaborated on the status quo of APV in India and NSEFI’s advancements in utilizing solar in agriculture to meet the Sustainable Development Goals and Climate Objectives on national and international levels. Ms. Ipsa Sweta Dhal, Fraunhofer ISE, continued with presenting the key finding of her report on “Agrivoltaics - International Experiences and Opportunities for India”. Last but not the least, Mr. Vivek Saraf from SunSeed APV gave an impressive presentation on their upcoming APV pilot project and the bankability of APV projects.

The roundtable was concluded with a Q&A session during which representatives from KfW bank and other audience members engaged in a fruitful exchange.