In a major boost to the Indian agriculture industry, the country’s government is planning to fund solar projects for irrigation that will benefit 2 million farmers. Tanzia Haq reports.
The Indian government announced in April 2020 that soon farmers will be able to invest in irrigation pumps powered by solar panel arrays. These arrays will be connected to a grid so that when farmers are not using the pumps, they can still use the grid to create and sell clean energy, thus increasing incomes for farmers and reducing the agrarian sector’s dependence on diesel-powered pumps.
Indian solar power expert Hemant Lamba welcomed the news, stating that: “As one pump sometimes serves several farms, the total number of solar-irrigated farms in India could now be as high as 3-4 million.”
For Lamba, this announcement comes after years of lobbying by clean energy groups such as the Ashden India Renewable Energy Collective, which is chaired by Lamba.
The solar panel pumps will enable farmers to make some extra income, a welcome benefit in a country where 58% of people rely on agriculture for their primary source of livelihood. The pumps will also ensure that the fields will have a reliable supple of irrigation water and easily sourced on-site power for other farming machinery and batteries, and cut carbon emissions down significantly.