Energetica India Magazine -October 2020

SOLAR POWER to install and hence are emerging as a popular choice among the end-user. Most importantly, the panels for a solar pump can be sized to meet the power demand of the pump. The growing relevance of solar-pow - ered pumps If we look at the economics, solar-pow- ered pumping systems may require substantial initial investments, but later, it reaps higher benefits as there is no operating cost nor energy cost. For a developing country such as India, with abundant sunlight and limited fossil-fu- el resources, solar-powered pumping systems provide promising solutions to meet the irrigation requirements of land holdings for small and marginal farmers. Solar pumps can operate for long peri- ods with minimal human intervention. Government of India has also embarked on an ambitious target of having 450GW of renewable energy by 2030. As part of this goal, it plans to provide 17 lakh solar pumps to farmers under Pradhan Man- tri-Kusum Yojana. India has also forged partnerships and is at the forefront of the formation of ‘International Solar Alliance’ (ISA). A total of 85 countries have signed the agreement, and 64 nations have rat- ified it. Grundfos India has already installed about 43,000 solar pumps for drinking water applications since its inception in India which has successfully been able to create a positive impact on 9.2 million people by providing access to clean drinking water. Apart from this, 4150 units of 3 and 5 HP SP Solar pumps have been installed and are in operation for the last 5-8 months across the coun- try, supporting farmers in irrigating their farm lands. Need to democratize the technologi - cal innovations According to a report by Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance, four of the top five investments in re - newable energy in 2019 were in India, with venture capitals and private equity investment up by 169 per cent at $1.4 billion. Looking at the broader dynamics, India has a vast potential left to be explored, and the demand for rooftop solar has not been fully tapped. Therefore, Grundfos is planning to invest in India in phases mainly to build the solar market to ad- dress the sustainability goal of the orga- nization. The investment started in 2019 and will continue for a few more years to come and is to the tune of Rs 100- 125 crore in total. These investments will enable the company to come up with affordable innovation, product develop- ment, products and thereby largely con- tribute to product democratization. In addition to this, leveraging the four key technologies set to revolutionize the democratization of solar and renewable energy products. These technologies include leveraging the power of the In- ternet of Things, innovations in the areas of storage technologies, augmentation with artificial intelligence and block chain technology. Alongside, efforts by the government to forge partnerships with Corporate to establish public-private partnerships are also likely to encourage widespread adoption of these products. 53 energetica INDIA- October_2020