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India's solar build is running out of easy land, and its two newest programmes are answers to that. A ₹5,070 crore scheme puts 5,000 MW of panels on reservoirs, each project carrying two hours of storage, and the next phase of PM-KUSUM will raise panels above the crop instead. Both are slivers against the 164.59 GW of solar already installed.
UPSC has asked
- Prelims 2022: the largest floating solar project in India
- Prelims 2020: solar water pumps
- Prelims 2018: solar power tariffs and the Solar Energy Corporation of India
Why land sets the limit
- Acquiring land is often the slowest and most contested part of building a large solar park.
- India carries about 18 per cent of the world's population on 2.4 per cent of its land, so a ground mounted solar farm competes with food for the same acre.
- India had 164.59 GW of solar installed on 31 July 2026, and the newer routes add to that without taking new land.
- About 700 MW of it floats, led by 278 MW at Omkareshwar on the Narmada, against a potential the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) puts at about 102 GW.
Panels on water against panels on land
Floating solar
- Takes no new land, sitting on reservoirs and other water bodies
- Water keeps the panels cool, and a cooler cell converts a little more of the light
- Shading the surface cuts evaporation from the water body
- Costs more to build, and must survive wind, waves and changing water levels
- May harm aquatic life and birds, and needs many agencies to agree
Land based solar
- Needs large tracts of land, which is scarce and costly
- Cheaper for each megawatt built, and simpler to install and maintain
- Panels sit in still hot air, and a hotter cell loses efficiency
PM-KUSUM, the scheme being extended
About 29 lakhAgricultural pumps solarised
7.6 GWDecentralised solar added under PM-KUSUM
- The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM), launched in 2019, supports decentralised solar plants, standalone solar pumps and the solarisation of grid connected agricultural pumps.
What has happened
9 Sep 2026
The Minister for New and Renewable Energy said the next phase of PM-KUSUM will carry a dedicated agrivoltaics component, with PM-KUSUM 2.0 due shortly.
- It targets small and marginal farmers, Farmer Producer Organisations, cooperatives and panchayats, and land ownership stays with the farmer.
- One acre then earns three ways: the crop, power sold to the distribution company (DISCOM), and diesel not bought.
PIB, 9 Sep 2026: The Farmer Who Has Always Fed the Nation is Now also Lighting it up, with the Annadata Becoming an Urjadata: Union Minister Shri Pralhad Joshi (opens in a new tab) · The Hindu, 9 Sep 2026: PM-KUSUM 2.0 announcement likely soon; agrivoltaics to get dedicated component (opens in a new tab)
1 Aug 2026
The Cabinet approved the ₹5,070 crore Pradhan Mantri Surya Sarovar Yojana (PM-SSY), India's first national scheme dedicated to floating solar.
- It targets 5,000 MW by 2030-31, is implemented by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), and pays up to ₹1 crore a megawatt on commissioning.
- Every project must carry at least two hours of co-located storage, 10,000 MWh in all, to reduce curtailment.
The Hindu, 1 Aug 2026: Cabinet approves scheme to promote floating solar plants (opens in a new tab) · PIB, 2 Aug 2026