Solar Pump solutions reshaping Indian agriculture sector

India is an agrarian based economy which makes our dependency on water high. According to The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations,70% of India’s rural households depend on agriculture as their primary source of livelihood. India’s agriculture sector contributes to approximately 16% of its GDP and is heavily dependent on water and energy. While many parts of the country battles water scarcity, agriculture is severely affected due to lack of water and irregular connectivity to energy sources to pump water.

Indian agriculture sector has faced some severe crisis due to extreme climate changes which has led to huge losses. According to an August 2018 report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), it is estimated that of the total 29.93 million agricultural pumps, around 0.13m are solar powered, 8.8m are diesel powered and 21m operate on grid connected electricity. However, these grid /diesel driven pumps lead to a high operational expenditure for farmers and has a deleterious impact on environment and ecosystem. Hence, solar pumps were introduced to reduce the money spent on generator fuel by farmers and transform the availability of irrigation water.

Water, energy and food are essential for human well-being, poverty reduction and sustainable development. Global projections indicate that demand for freshwater, energy and food will increase significantly over the next decades. Agriculture accounts for 70 percent of total global freshwater withdrawals, making it the largest user of water. Water is used for agricultural production, forestry and fishery, along the entire agri-food supply chain, and it is used to produce or transport energy in different forms.

In India, the Green Revolution of the 1960s helped ensure food security for the starving millions. However, the economics of crop pricing and markets associated with the Green Revolution had damaging and far-reaching consequences on the country’s water, energy and land resources. The government of India could achieve 38% of its renewable electricity-generation target justby shifting from conventional pumps to solar irrigation pumps.

India sets an ambitious target to achieve 175 GW renewable energy by the year 2022. Of this, more than 55% i.e., is 100 GW is to be obtained from solar energy. The 100 GW is further divided into 60 GW for utility-scale and 40 GW for rooftop projects. Solar dominates the renewable energy space, as it is commercially viable, easy to install, and boasts of low cost of operation and maintenance. Despite India’s rapid development and urbanization, industrial and domestic water users in India consume 10 percent and 8 percent respectively, while the agricultural sector consumes 82 percent of total supply.

Role of solar pumps

Considering India’s tropical nature, solar pumps can be employed to provide reliable water supply for irrigation and ancillary activities in such remote locations. This shift ensures in an increase in sustainability while improving cost and operational efficiency. Technology driven solar solutions ensure that farmers can operate these pumps without frequent downtime or maintenance requirements. The majority of pumps used today are either grid based or run on diesel. However, the rising price of diesel, its environmental implications and frequent power failures requires the adoption of renewable solutions in rural or off-grid areas. Sustainability being one of the utmost priorities and keeping this in mind, Grundfos is constantly working on solutions that harnesses renewables. With applications to improve drinking water accessibility and agriculture, 6% of the total portfolio caters to this market currently. Cutting-edge solar pumping solutions will help farmers in remote locations access water with minimal energy consumption. In order to strengthen presence in the solar market, already an investment is planned of INR 100-125 Cr.

Government’s support to leverage solar pumps

Schemes introduced by the government such as KUSUM and multiple state funded programs are likely to give the industry a boost by incentivizing large-scale adoption. However, it is believed that there is a scope for improvement and further fine tuning to attract private players into this segment to democratize the product and build innovative solutions. The solar pump schemes via the flagship Government program PM KUSUM in the Agri sector and the Jal Jeevan mission for the piped water supply in rural communities, is bound to drive the demand for solar pumps over the next 4 years.

As per a news report in 2018, over 90% of the 18,452 targeted villages for electrification remain off-grid, accounting to over 30 million homes. In order to add incentive to the agricultural industry in remote and rural villages of India with limited grid connectivity, Grundfos India introduced two unique off-grid sustainable water solutions. This renewable energy powered off-grid solutions, ‘SQFlex’ and ‘CRFlex’, will help pump underground water. These pumps can use multiple energy sources and help in improving the access to water in remote locations without grid-based electricity.

Advantages of solar pumps

As compared to conventional water pumps, the solar water pumps require very low maintenance. Solar water pumps have fewer moving parts than other water pumps, so the chances of deterioration are minimal. Apart from using it for water irrigation, farmers can sell the surplus energy to the grid. Solar pumps are expensive than its traditional counterparts although this seems to be a challenge, there is an initial installation cost but through its solutions it can be more cost effective throughout its lifecycle by consistently performing with minimal maintenance requirements. Solar pumps have a vast potential in a tropical country like India with an abundance of sunlight. The government and private players must work together to address these challenges to prepare the industry for future growth. Drinking water and irrigation sector have significant potential where water solution companies are constantly working on it.

Future of solar pumps in India

Currently, India is one of the leading countries to utilise and make solar pumps effective in the world along with countries in the Middle East and Africa. They have vast potential to address water related challenges such as availability and supply in agriculture and off-grid areas. Over 181,000 solar water pumps had been installed across the country by October 2019, announced R.K. Singh, Union Power Minister in Lok Sabha. The Government of India has a target of adding over 10,000 MW of solar capacity to solarize the agriculture sector. Looking at how renewable solutions are now constantly curated and developed, it is expected to see a larger scale in upcoming years, modernization of the grid network is going to become the norm in order to successfully match the capacity. Also, Government’s incentivisation to encourage the adoption of the renewable products will help these solutions go a long way.

- Rangarajan Ramaswamy Senior Vice President

- Water Utility Export Grundfos Life Link & Solar, Grundfos India.