If solar irrigation is over-drawing groundwater, it’s being done wrong, Pg II

Key Highlights:

• The debate on solar irrigation's impact on groundwater often oversimplifies, treating it as a single model with inherent risks of over-abstraction.
• Different solar irrigation models, such as grid-connected systems and fee-for-service centralized models, offer incentives for efficient water use.
• Gujarat's Suryashakti Kisan Yojana (SKY) demonstrated that grid-connected solar farmers had slower growth in energy consumption and irrigation.
• The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) scheme has installed over 2.5 million solar pumps, making them affordable for smallholder farmers.
• Solar irrigation can significantly reduce carbon emissions from groundwater pumping and alleviate agricultural electricity subsidy burdens.

Solar Irrigation.jpg

Detailed Insights:

• The impact of solar irrigation on groundwater is highly dependent on the specific model deployed, local hydrogeology, and economic incentives.
• Grid-connected solar models, like those under SKY, allow farmers to sell surplus electricity, transforming them into energy producers and incentivizing water conservation.
• In Bangladesh, a fee-for-service centralized solar model showed that farmers did not use more water than diesel users, as operators needed efficient use to serve multiple clients.
• Local factors such as hydrogeology, cropping patterns, and soil type significantly influence how solar irrigation affects farmers' water use behavior.
• In regions like Punjab and Haryana, where irrigation is already widespread, solar irrigation's role is more about sustainability and reducing emissions than expanding irrigated areas.
• For Eastern India, where irrigation access is limited, solar pumps can boost agricultural productivity and climate resilience.
• Solar irrigation can reduce an estimated 45-62 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually from groundwater irrigation and alleviate over ₹1 lakh crore in annual electricity subsidies.
• Future policies, including PM-KUSUM 2.0, should adopt a differentiated regional approach, pairing solar deployment with stronger groundwater monitoring.
• Refining models requires simpler grid connection procedures and attractive buyback prices for individual pumps, and water-saving incentives for feeder-level transitions.
• Schemes like Punjab’s Pani Bachao, Paisa Kamao and Haryana’s Mera Pani Meri Virasat offer examples of direct cash payments for reduced pumping.
• In irrigation-deprived areas with low groundwater risk, standalone solar pumps should prioritize expanding access, potentially through water-user associations and cooperatives.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Groundwater abstraction: The process of extracting water from underground aquifers for various uses.
• Aquifers: Underground layers of permeable rock or sediment that hold and transmit groundwater.
• Feed-in-tariff: A policy mechanism that offers long-term contracts to renewable energy producers, often at above-market rates.
• DISCOMs: Electricity Distribution Companies responsible for supplying electricity to consumers.
• Micro-irrigation: Efficient irrigation methods such as drip or sprinkler systems that deliver water directly to plant roots.