Highlights:
- This year there has been a significant upward trend in solar pump installations across all states and it is hoped that the momentum will continue.
- For domestic companies like Gautam Solar, solar pump work might not make the headlines like large rooftop or utility projects, but the volume and impact are no less important here.
New Delhi-based solar power system manufacturer Gautam Solar has installed 1,500 solar pumps at various locations in Haryana as part of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) program, according to the company's press release.
While the company had installed 1,000 solar pumps in Haryana by May 2021, the company received an order for around 1,500 more solar pumps from Haryana farmers by August.
“So far we have worked with the farmers of Haryana and Rajasthan … We look forward to working with farmers in the other regions of the country,” said Gautam Mohanka, Managing Director of Gautam Solar.
Solar powered irrigation systems offer a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels and enable the development of low carbon irrigation agriculture. In areas with no or unreliable access to energy, they contribute to rural electrification and reduce energy costs for irrigation.
The government's goal is to install 22,000 stand-alone solar pumps in Haryana in the first year of the PM-KUSUM program. With this regulation, the farmers only have to bear 40% of the pump costs, while the federal government and the states subsidize the remaining 60% for solar pumps.
However, the government of Haryana has increased the subsidy, reducing the percentage of farmers to less than 25%.
As the only solar manufacturer in the country that produces all solar pump components in-house, Gautam Solar can maintain a steady supply in line with demand and serves as a central service point for the farmers so that they do not have to walk from the supplier to the provider.
“At Gautam Solar we have always emphasized the importance of being environmentally conscious and we believe that for any major change we need to start at the grassroots – our farmers. Farmers have been using diesel-based generators for some time, but due to a lack of options. In practice, diesel generators not only cause environmental pollution, but are also expensive in the long run. This problem will only get worse in the future as fossil fuel sources become scarce. Pradhan Mantri Kusum Yojana is a wonderful project that will catalyze the introduction of solar energy as the primary energy source in the rural areas of the country, ”Mohanka explained in May.