Experts push for Delhi-esque pro-farmer solar policies
NEW DELHI: Green policy think tanks are pushing for the adoption of pro-farmer solar power policies, along the lines of Delhi government's 'Mukhyamantri Kisan Aaye Badhotri Yojna' (MKABY) which aims at increasing annual income of farmers through installation of solar pumps for agriculture.
Such policies will not only reduce farmers' large expenditure on diesel-operated pumps, but also increase their annual income from agriculture, say experts.
Soon after the MKABY was launched, the state governments of Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra also came up with solar-power based solutions for their farmers.
"One of the banes of a farmer's existence is the lack of reliable daytime electricity. This can easily be addressed through high-quality solar pumps that provide them with power during the day. Since the pumps are net-metered, farmers always have an option of drawing power from the grid in case of an excessively cloudy day or when the pumps are down due to any technical issue," noted a report.
Recent surveys also noted that such pumps not only cater to farmers' own consumption, but – if sized adequately – can result in excess power that can be fed into the grid.
"Farmers can earn money for the power injected into the grid, quite similar to the rooftop net-metering scheme. The size of the solar system in relation to the pump capacity can be decided by state governments based on their policies," the report stated.
One of the concerns of providing high-quality, round-the-clock grid power to farmers is the over-exploitation of groundwater, with ample evidence to suggest a strong correlation between subsidised energy access and groundwater exploitation.
"Solar pumps provide high-quality power for irrigation purposes during daytime and plug in an incentive for farmers to use water efficiently and divert power into the grid, in order to earn additional revenue," the report further said.
Talking to Millennium Post, climate and energy campaigner said Pujarini Sen, "Despite government efforts towards grid expansion, the reliable power supply is yet to reach large chunks of rural India. However, solar policies like solar pumps not only provide a reliable power supply for farmers, they also provide respite to discoms and can also cut out the use of diesel generators."
"When grid-connected, they can also add to farmer income and encourage groundwater preservation. It's a wholistic win-win solution for all stakeholders," Sen stated, adding that solar pumps could add as much as 15 giga watt and more, to India's 100 GW of solar by 2022 target.
