Right-sizing solar irrigation pumps: in India, and beyond

Solar irrigation pumps can bring significant benefits for food security, livelihoods, and the environment. They run on clean, renewable energy, with no reliance on costly and polluting fossil fuels, and once installed, they have no running costs – providing 1,400–2,200 hours of free, dependable ener...

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Main Author: Verma, Shilp
Format: Blog Post
Language:Inglés
Published: CGIAR System Organization 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/132551
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author Verma, Shilp
author_browse Verma, Shilp
author_facet Verma, Shilp
author_sort Verma, Shilp
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Solar irrigation pumps can bring significant benefits for food security, livelihoods, and the environment. They run on clean, renewable energy, with no reliance on costly and polluting fossil fuels, and once installed, they have no running costs – providing 1,400–2,200 hours of free, dependable energy per year, contributing to food security and boosting farmers’ incomes for decades. Farmers are understandably enthusiastic about the adoption of these pumps. However, the lack of running costs means there is no incentive to limit pumping, which can lead to the depletion of groundwater resources. This is a particular concern in some parts of India. The country is the world leader in solar power for agriculture, with 93 percent of the global off-grid capacity deployed for agricultural use, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. Roughly 350,000 solar irrigation pumps are already installed. Yet these comprise just a tiny fraction of the 21 million irrigation pumps that exist across India and the government is working to massively expand the number of solar pumps. In 2019, it launched the ambitious PM-KUSUM initiative in an effort to ensure energy security for farmers. This involves a pledge to install more than 3.5 million standalone and grid-connected solar irrigation pumps.
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spelling CGSpace1325512024-11-07T09:51:19Z Right-sizing solar irrigation pumps: in India, and beyond Verma, Shilp innovation technology solar energy irrigation pumps food security income generation livelihoods farmers groundwater water policy costs environment Solar irrigation pumps can bring significant benefits for food security, livelihoods, and the environment. They run on clean, renewable energy, with no reliance on costly and polluting fossil fuels, and once installed, they have no running costs – providing 1,400–2,200 hours of free, dependable energy per year, contributing to food security and boosting farmers’ incomes for decades. Farmers are understandably enthusiastic about the adoption of these pumps. However, the lack of running costs means there is no incentive to limit pumping, which can lead to the depletion of groundwater resources. This is a particular concern in some parts of India. The country is the world leader in solar power for agriculture, with 93 percent of the global off-grid capacity deployed for agricultural use, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. Roughly 350,000 solar irrigation pumps are already installed. Yet these comprise just a tiny fraction of the 21 million irrigation pumps that exist across India and the government is working to massively expand the number of solar pumps. In 2019, it launched the ambitious PM-KUSUM initiative in an effort to ensure energy security for farmers. This involves a pledge to install more than 3.5 million standalone and grid-connected solar irrigation pumps. 2023-09-01 2023-10-30T20:04:34Z 2023-10-30T20:04:34Z Blog Post https://hdl.handle.net/10568/132551 en Open Access CGIAR System Organization Verma, S. 2023. Right-sizing solar irrigation pumps: in India, and beyond. Montpellier, France: CGIAR. https://www.cgiar.org/news-events/news/right-sizing-solar-irrigation-pumps-in-india-and-beyond/
spellingShingle innovation
technology
solar energy
irrigation
pumps
food security
income generation
livelihoods
farmers
groundwater
water policy
costs
environment
Verma, Shilp
Right-sizing solar irrigation pumps: in India, and beyond
title Right-sizing solar irrigation pumps: in India, and beyond
title_full Right-sizing solar irrigation pumps: in India, and beyond
title_fullStr Right-sizing solar irrigation pumps: in India, and beyond
title_full_unstemmed Right-sizing solar irrigation pumps: in India, and beyond
title_short Right-sizing solar irrigation pumps: in India, and beyond
title_sort right sizing solar irrigation pumps in india and beyond
topic innovation
technology
solar energy
irrigation
pumps
food security
income generation
livelihoods
farmers
groundwater
water policy
costs
environment
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/132551
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