Beyond Decarbonization Case Study: Agrivoltaics as a Dual-Use Solution for Food and Energy Security in Bangladesh

Bangladesh faces a critical dilemma: securing energy for agriculture while preserving scarce land for food production. Over 1.6 million diesel-powered irrigation pumps drive a $3.2 billion annual fuel-import bill and measurable greenhouse-gas emissions, prompting the country to pioneer solar irrigation pumps (SIPs) through a fee-for-service model that cuts farmer costs by 20–30% without accelerating groundwater depletion. Yet conventional solar installations occupy 13–30 decimals of land per system, intensifying land-use conflict in a country where agricultural land has fallen from 80% to 76% of total area since 1989. This paper examines agrivoltaics—the co-location of solar generation and crop cultivation—as a response to this trade-off. Through a comparative multi-case analysis of seven agrivoltaic and integrated solar-agriculture initiatives in Bangladesh, spanning 37 kW customer-level systems to a planned 100 MW utility-scale plant, we analyze technical design, crop performance, economic and social co-benefits, and policy readiness. Results show shade-tolerant crops such as turmeric, ginger and lettuce match or exceed open-field yields under elevated panels, while rice yields fall by 20–25%; irrigation costs drop by 20–30%; farmers save 5–6 hours of daily labor; and groundwater extraction remains unaffected under the fee-for-service model. The paper concludes with policy recommendations for scaling agrivoltaics as Bangladesh pursues its Renewable Energy Policy 2025 target of 20% renewable electricity by 2030.