The Government Comes Up With Yet Another Plan For the Betterment of the Indian Farmers

Solar Pumps and Plants for the Indian Farmers

The Indian government is launching a plan for the installation of solar pumps and grid-connected solar power plants. The government is targeting to add more than 25 GW of solar capacity by 2022. The scheme is divided into three parts, installation of standalone solar pumps, solarisation of existing agricultural pumps and commissioning of grid-connected solar power plants.

Ground mounted solar power plants of individual capacities ranging between 500kW to 2 MW and totaling 10,000 MW will be installed by 2022. The distribution companies (Discoms) may also allow the installation of plants with less than 500 kW capacity in specific cases. About 17.5 lakh solar powered pumps and 10 lakh grid-connected agricultural pumps with capacity up to 7.5 HP each, respectively will also be installed over the next three years. The government will run a pilot scheme whereby 1000 MW capacity of ground-mounted solar power plants and 1 lakh grid-connected pumps would be commissioned this year.

The ground-mounted solar power plants are expected to be installed within 5 km radius of substations to keep the losses low and Discoms would purchase the power generated by solar plants at regulated FiTs by the SERC of specified states. A PPA of 25 years will also be signed by them. The project is allowed to be installed on any land and the farmers will receive assistance from SNAs (State Nodal Agencies) throughout the project. This will allow farmers to earn even from their uncultivable land and will offer a continuous source of cash flows to landowners for at least 25 years.

The central government will provide Central Financial Assistance of 30% of the benchmark cost or 30% of the tender cost whichever is lower in case of installation of standalone solar pumps. Other than CFA, the state will also provide support of up to 30% of benchmark cost and the farmer can also avail bank finance of up to 30% of the cost. In this way, only 10% of the installation cost will have to be borne by the farmer. This scheme is only applicable for replacing diesel pumps with solar pumps in areas where the groundwater level is below the critical level and is not applicable for new solar pumps.

In the case of solarisation of existing agricultural pumps, the same financial support will be offered to the farmers. Not only will the farmers receive a continuous water supply, but they can also feed surplus power to the grid and can sell electricity to the Discoms. Solar energy will go a long way in improving the plight of our farmers and increasing the agricultural output of the country. Not only will the overall carbon footprint of the country be reduced, but it could also save a fortune by foregoing expensive diesel and power cost.

You can read more about the scheme here: Economic Times