Agrivoltaic insect net house more than doubled land-use efficiency in India trial
An India agrivoltaics trial combining solar panels, an insect net house and peppers reached a land equivalent ratio of 2.55 and an eight-year payback period.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels
A field trial in India combining solar panels with a protected net house for growing peppers reached a land equivalent ratio of 2.55, more than doubling the output of the same land used for crops and electricity separately. The agrivoltaics study, published in the journal “Energy Nexus” by researchers from the Vellore Institute of Technology and Junagadh Agricultural University, also generated 1,058.30 kWh of electricity over the season and estimated an eight-year payback period.
How the agrivoltaics trial was built
The team constructed two agrivoltaic insect net houses (AVINH) at a research farm in Gujarat, India. Each net house measured 8.04 m long, 4.10 m wide, and 3 m high, fitted with a white 40-mesh insect net and 12 solar panels rated at 150 W, a 1.8 kW array per structure mounted at 3 m to allow tractor access. One structure had a covered roof, with insect netting stretched across the gaps between the panels; the other had an open roof, leaving those gaps uncovered. A conventional open field served as the control.
Under each structure, the researchers planted three pepper plots with different treatments: raised beds with mulch (T1); raised beds with mulch and biofertilizers (T2); and a soilless medium of vermicompost and cocopeat with biofertilizers (T3). They logged air temperature, relative humidity, light intensity, and solar radiation with HOBO data loggers and solar-tracking instruments, taking measurements from December to March.
Agrivoltaics results: land use and energy
The land equivalent ratio (LER) compares the combined food and electricity output of an agrivoltaic system with separate crop and solar production; values above 1 indicate more efficient land use. The covered net house produced the highest ratios across all three treatments.
| Configuration | Treatment | Land equivalent ratio (LER) |
|---|---|---|
| Covered roof | T2 (mulch + biofertilizer) | 2.55 |
| Covered roof | T3 (soilless medium) | 2.28 |
| Covered roof | T1 (mulch) | 2.26 |
| Open roof | T1 (mulch) | 1.82 |
| Open roof | T2 (mulch + biofertilizer) | 1.68 |
| Open roof | T3 (soilless medium) | 1.67 |
Source: Vellore Institute of Technology and Junagadh Agricultural University (2026), “Energy Nexus”, DOI article S2772427126001075. Values above 1 indicate more efficient combined land use.
Over the experiment, the facility generated 1,058.30 kWh of electricity. The researchers said the system produced more energy than standard agrivoltaic arrays because crop evapotranspiration cooled the rear of the panels, and reported a capacity factor ranging from 19.42% to 21.15% across the period. They described the eight-year payback as evidence of the system’s economic viability and listed lower carbon emissions, reduced pesticide need, and less soil erosion and evaporation among the approach’s advantages.
Stated limitations and next steps
The authors framed the trial as a single-season test at one research farm, with measurements taken from December to March, and called for further work to identify shade-tolerant and shade-resilient crop varieties and to test different AVINH designs and materials for fine-tuning the microclimate. The findings appear in the paper Agricultural intensification with Agrivoltaic insect net house systems, published in “Energy Nexus”.
Background
Agrivoltaics, the practice of generating solar power and growing crops on the same land, dates to a 1981 proposal by Adolf Goetzberger and Armin Zastrow and has expanded as land competition between food and energy has grown. Adding an insect net house extends the idea toward protected cultivation, shielding crops from pests while the panels shade and shelter them. The Gujarat trial tests that combination for peppers and measures both the agronomic and electrical output, adding controlled figures to a field that Winss Solutions has followed through its coverage of how drones are transforming sustainable agriculture and drone mapping and analysis for precision agriculture. The reported land equivalent ratio of 2.55 places the covered net house among the higher combined-output figures recorded for protected agrivoltaic systems, though the authors caution the result reflects one site and one growing season.
Sources: Energy Nexus (Elsevier); pv magazine
Featured image: photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels (free Pexels license).
Become a Sponsor
Our website is the heart of the mission of WINSS – it’s where we share updates, publish research, highlight community impact, and connect with supporters around the world. To keep this essential platform running, updated, and accessible, we rely on the generosity of you, who believe in our work.
We offer the option to sponsor monthly, or just once choosing the amount of your choice. If you run a company, please contact us via info@winssolutions.org.
I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.
