Solar pumps are extremely cost effective in the long run, as they cut down the total lifecycle cost by three times compared to diesel pumps, owing to their low operational, maintenance and replacement costs.
With majority of agricultural footprints in India, the country’s agriculture industry is predominantly one of the largest energy-consuming sectors of the country. This can be backed by the fact that about 18% of the country’s total electricity is consumed for agricultural activities. Farmers rely on agriculture primarily for irrigation, livestock and other maintenance purposes, out of which, 2/3rd of irrigation requirements need groundwater.
The energy invested in pump systems used for irrigation purpose is majorly produced by electricity and fuel, specifically, diesel. Annually, irrigation pumps in India operate on 2,000 million litres of diesel. This ginormous figure indicates how highly dependent the agriculture sector is on exhaustible resources for its energy needs. The country’s approximate 8 million diesel-powered pumps and the 21 million electricity grid connected pumps depict how the country is yet to adopt a more renewable source of energy for agriculture in India.
Every year, India’s land mass is exposed to a solar radiation estimated to be of 5,000 trillion kWh. However, only 2% of this is being exploited to generate electricity in the country. As a country with massive opportunity to produce solar power, India has not ventured completely into solar energy for its agricultural needs. An estimated share i.e 0.13% of the country’s irrigation pumps operate on solar power, as opposed to the popularly used electrical and diesel pumps. Despite the readily available energy source and the technological advancements to extract it, the country is yet to explore solar as a potential replacement for diesel and electrical pumps used for agriculture.
The KUSUM programand perspective as a thought leader around the program
Recognizing the possibilities of utilizing solar power in agriculture, the government introduced the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evem Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM) Scheme which would focus on providing renewable energy, especially solar power, towards agriculture in the country.
In the Union Budget 2020, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman further extended the scheme’s budget with a financial support of INR 34,422 crores. So far, the program has shown promising results in boosting the use of solar power in India. This is a prominent indicator for reduction of the cost of 3HP solar water pumping systems benchmarked by MNRE by 35%, from INR 255,000 in 2018 to INR 168,300 in 2020. Similar reduction has been achieved for 5HP solar pumping solutions too.
With consistent efforts of the government and private parties actively contributing to support the initiative, India might see a tremendous growth in solar-powered pumps in Indian agriculture. One of the biggest hurdles farmers face when planning to equip their farms with solar pumps is the cost. However, with the government’s support, this challenge is tackled, welcoming newer opportunities to leverage solar power for Indian agriculture. Through this initiative, the country can look forward to successfully replacing electrical and diesel pumps, whose energy can be used elsewhere, like industries, manufacturing or even households.
Solar pumps in India
Thanks to initiatives like the PM KUSUM Scheme, the Indian agriculture sector is bound to experience a growth in solar power usage. In the past few years, several villages across the country saw solar installations that are directed to support anticultural needs. The MNRE provided the farmer with a subsidy for the installation, making it easy for him to switch from electrical pumps to solar-powered pumps. Additionally, entrepreneurs are moving towards establishing solar farms to provide farmers with renewable energy.
In Bijapur, Karnataka, a farmer installed a Grundfos solar pump of 5.5 kW at a cost of INR 10 lacs. Set up in 2013 to replace a 7.5 kW pump, the farmer estimated for the pay back to come in 3 to 4 years. To his surprise, he received the pay back in just 1.5 years of the installation. Besides the expenses, the farmer managed to conserve power as well as water.
These are only a few instances where solar pumps have proven to be more efficient in India. Technology has evolved in such a convenient way that farmers from remote locations can access solar power through intelligent solar pumps. Innovative pump solutions such as Grundfos’ SQFlex are suitable for remote areas, making them ideal for the vast agricultural terrains of India. The pumps are also customizable based on the requirements of each land, which would cater to the varying needs of Indian farmers across the country.
The convenience in installation comes from the absence of external components for basic operation. To top it all off, these pumps have a lower lifecycle cost compared to the equivalent diesel pumps. Solar pumps are extremely cost effective in the long run, as they cut down the total lifecycle cost by three times compared to diesel pumps, owing to their low operational, maintenance and replacement costs.
Switching from around 29 million units of traditional pumps in India (including about 21 million electricity grid connected pumps and around 8.8 million diesel powered pumps) to solar pumps can reduce the usage of fossil fuels, subsequently leading to the reduction of CO2 emission. When these diesel pumps are replaced with solar pumps, the country can annually save up to 4 billion litres of diesel. The country can make use of the abundant availability of solar source to reduce the import of coal and diesel for energy requirements.
The future of pumps in agriculture is solar
Globally governments now look at renewable based specifically, solar based solutions as the rightful source of energy to combat the climate change, India is being proactive with its efforts to implement the same. If carefully executed, solar-powered pumps replacing traditional pumps can help the government reach 38% of its renewable electricity-generation target.
With such incredible potential to transform the energy consumption scenario in the country, solar power would revolutionize agriculture with its cost efficiency and functional benefits. Businesses are also investing in developing solar-powered solutions for these reasons. Technologies by Grundfos, engineered with a vision to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, would contribute to providing and managing clean, drinking water in the country.
- Rangarajan Ramaswamy, Senior Vice President, Water Utility, Export, Grundfos Life Link & Solar, Grundfos India
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