This research investigates the potential of agrivoltaics in Bangladesh, where limited studies have hindered scaling this solution. The project aims to explore the impacts of agrivoltaics on solar providers and farmers, focusing on land-use challenges, policy limitations, and socio-economic impacts. It will assess the viability of combining solar power generation with agriculture by testing three experimental plots across diverse agroclimatic zones. The research seeks to identify key adoption factors for farmers and solar providers, including economic and environmental outcomes, and provide policy recommendations to enable agrivoltaics. It aims to support Bangladesh’s renewable energy goals while ensuring a fair transition for farmers and the textile industry.
Researchers: Rohini Kamal, PhD; Mohammad Tofail Bin Azam
Partner: H&M Foundation
Timeline: 2025-2027
Status: Ongoing
Contact: Rohini Kamal; rohini.kamal@bracu.ac.bd
Context
There is a significant lack of research on the implications of agrivoltaics in Bangladesh. This gap in evidence makes it challenging to identify pertinent issues and practicalities associated with scaling up this solution. In Bangladesh, access to renewable energy is a barrier to decarbonizing the textile industry. Solar power requires more land per unit of power generated compared to fossil fuels. Bangladesh, being densely populated with extensive agricultural land demands, faces significant challenges in allocating land for solar energy projects. Agriculture remains a key source of income for low-income families, low-skill workers, and rural women. Current policy limits the use of agricultural land for power generation, adding to the challenge of renewable expansion. Additionally, as solar panels are imported, the potential for local employment in solar irrigation remains low unless local farmers are integrated into the agrivoltaics project.
The limited research on the implications of agrivoltaics in Bangladesh, coupled with the absence of sufficient evidence, makes it challenging to identify key issues worth investigating and anticipate the practical challenges of scaling up this solution. To date, there are no agrivoltaic farms in Bangladesh designed at the onset with the specifications required for combined agriculture and solar power generation. Previous and ongoing projects have agriculture being explored as an add-on to existing solar farms and, therefore, the negative yield impacts on crops have been significant. This project will be the first to design a combined system from the onset, designing panel placement around the agricultural requirements. This action research aims to explore 1) the impacts on, and, therefore, 2) factors influencing the adoption of agrivoltaics for both solar providers and farmers.
Agrivoltaic system installation on a large scale could reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The shading produced by the PV modules reduces water evaporation throughout the summer, particularly during the dry period. With the right business model, agrivoltaics could generate both environmental and socio-economic gains while addressing the increased need for renewable energy.
Objective
The purpose of this project is to analyse how Bangladesh might pursue agrivoltaics at scale, using data and findings to complement macroeconomic analysis to amend the existing policy limiting the utilization of agricultural land for energy production. This exploratory research aims to identify key issues faced by solar power providers. It will address challenges and concerns around employment, the economy, the environment, and climate change. The research aims to contribute to a policy push around agrivoltaics for Bangladesh’s renewable targets to succeed. It will explore the realities of growing crops under solar panels in Bangladesh.
It will consider the current business model of the solar provider and the farmer and compare it to the new business model with agrivoltaics, which will help identify key issues in adopting agrivoltaics. The ultimate goal is to inform the policy that is currently prohibiting the use of agricultural land for solar irrigation, in an effort to solve the challenge of land scarcity and renewable energy production.
It will help identify what type of land-sharing agreements and incentives, such as technical know-how or agricultural extension services, might be beneficial to farmers. This will provide renewable energy in Bangladesh that, through future PPE set-up, can ensure the textile industry is run on green energy, while at the same time ensuring that this transition is just and fair for those affected.
Methodology
Our implementation partner, Bright Green Energy Foundation (BGEF), owns land in Manikganj and Kushtia. Additionally, we will acquire a parcel of land in Satkhira (near BIGD’s Mathkendro) and will start leasing these lands to farmers. We plan to cultivate crops on three plots under solar panels, located in three different districts across the country, each representing a distinct agroclimatic zone.
We will analyze the impact of growing crops under the panels on the social and economic conditions of the farmers of Bangladesh. The investigation will focus on the placement and sloping of panels, panel mounting, the type of panels used, along with the type of crops, and how they affect economic viability, agricultural productivity, and soil parameters. We will compare yield and costs for the same area of land and the same crop, with and without the shade of the panel. We will analyse both qualitative and quantitative data from the three experimental plots and then produce reports and disseminate them to share findings with relevant stakeholders.
Performance indicators will include the revenue and costs impact on solar providers (BGEF) and farmers. The process documentation by the solar provider and farmers will also be considered. For the solar provider, we will measure output from solar panels, revenue from electricity sales, and costs (hardware and operational costs) for the land area covered. For the farmer, we will measure input costs (including irrigation costs), yield, and revenue from crop sales.