Solarizing Irrigation in India

Powering India’s agriculture

India’s agricultural sector is the country’s third-largest consumer of electricity. State governments often subsidize electricity for farmers, but these subsidies place immense financial strain on the electricity distribution companies (discoms) and state governments. To manage their losses, discoms restrict the hours of power supply to farmers, resulting in unreliable electricity access. By shifting agricultural power demand to the daytime through solar-powered irrigation, India can harness a dual benefit of decarbonizing its agricultural sector while improving the efficiency and reliability of electricity distribution. 

Solar-powered irrigation can help in three ways:

1. It provides reliable and affordable power to farmers, reducing dependencies on erratic supply and costlier diesel alternatives, therefore enhancing farmers’ incomes and well-being.
2. Transitioning away from heavily subsidized electricity reduces financial pressure on discoms.
3. Solar irrigation advances India’s clean energy goals, lowering air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Solarizing agricultural demand can foster more resilient and sustainable agricultural and electricity sectors.

Accelerating solar irrigation through PM-KUSUM policy support

The Government of India’s Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahaabhiyan (KUSUM) scheme is at the forefront of promoting solar irrigation. Under its three components, the scheme seeks to deploy decentralized solar plants (Component A), standalone solar pumps (Component B), and grid-connected agricultural pumps (Component C) on farmer-owned lands.

IISD’s research aims to support state policy-makers in accelerating the implementation of solar irrigation under the PM-KUSUM scheme, providing evidence-based recommendations, needs-based assistance, and practical implementation-focused tools to help states navigate key challenges and maximize the benefits of the transition to solar-powered agriculture.

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