In 2023, the policy landscape for renewables in the agriculture sector remained constrained by fragmented policies and a siloed approach, with national agricultural policy documents seldom mentioning renewable energy. ¹⁹ The focus was mainly on biogas and solar water pumps, sidelining the vast potential of other renewable technologies, while agrivoltaics was still considered to be at the frontier of innovation. ²⁰ Rising consumer demand for sustainably produced goods has helped push the sector to adopt cleaner energy options to meet market expectations. ²¹

By the end of 2023, 4 countries and the EU had renewable energy targets in the agriculture sector. For example, in 2022, India announced its aim to replace diesel use in agriculture with renewable energy by 2024, while the Republic of Korea added a target to reach 10 GW of agrivoltaics capacity by 2030 under its Renewable Energy 2030 plan. ²² A total of 32 national and sub-national jurisdictions had renewable energy policies for agriculture as of 2023. ²³ (See Figure 24.)

The European Union (EU) adopted the 2023-2027 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which supports biogas production and renewable energy investments on farms, with the aim of installing 1,556 MW of renewable capacity. ²⁴ The CAP provides support for nearly 180,000 farms to engage in renewables and promotes energy efficiency and precision farming to enhance resource management. ²⁵ The European Commission also issued a strategy on energy transitions for the EU fisheries and aquaculture sector. ²⁶

FIGURE 24.National and Sub-National Renewable Energy Policies for Agriculture, 2023

In 2023, Indonesia increased its support to fishers and farmers through the distribution of converter kits. ²⁷ The Philippines' National Irrigation Administration funded solar irrigation systems on plantations and offered up sites for floating solar PV projects after the successful completion of a floating solar demonstration project. ²⁸ Egypt established a Centre for Renewable Energy in Aquaculture, financed by Norway, to test innovative renewable energy solutions among 5,000 fish producers throughout the country. ²⁹

Fiscal and financial policies continued to be widely used for renewables in the agriculture sector in 2023. Greece offered grants to farmers covering up to 60% of the cost of PV systems, and the EU allocated USD 1.8 billion (EUR 1.7 billion) to Italy to support agrivoltaics. ³⁰ The United States allocated USD 300 million in loans and grants to support rural electricity providers through the Rural Clean Energy Initiative. ³¹ Poland launched a USD 244,790 (EUR 230,000) subsidy programme to help farmers and energy co-operatives in rural communes finance renewable energy and energy storage systems, and also put in place a subsidy scheme to develop co-generation from biogas produced using municipal organic waste. ³² Brazil extended grants to a local company to develop a biogas production line. ³³ In India, the state of Haryana announced new subsidies to cover 75% of the cost of solar pumps, encompassing the difference between the PM KUSUM Scheme subsidies and the actual cost of the system for the years 2023-2024. ³⁴

In a counter trend, Sweden reduced its tax on agricultural diesel to provide farmers with relief from inflation and to match levels required by the EU. ³⁵ Spain put in place transport fuel subsidies for farmers in a similar policy response to the price crisis. ³⁶