Solar pumpsets a boon to farmers

*Solar-powered water pumping solution comes as a boon to meet irrigation and drinking water needs of rural population, especially in power-deficit regions.

*The installation of pumpsets reduces dependence on power and expenditure on bills

Kakinada: As part of the government’s target to set up solar agricultural pump sets across the State to reduce the grid power consumption by farmers, officials of the New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP) and AP Power Distribution Company are making all-out efforts to motivate farmers to rely on the eco-friendly mode to irrigate their fields.

With a continuous rise in thirst for water and energy, solar pumping systems come as both a short-term and long-term solution. The district farmers will be better equipped to overcome power crises, improve their economic lot while at the same time embrace green technology with the NREDCAP distributing 2515-HP solar-powered pumpsets at subsidised rates.

The solar-powered pumps, which will run on the electricity generated by photovoltaic cell would prove to be a boon to farmers that experience frequent power cuts. Farmers in upland areas and in sub-plan mandals in the district, who could not cultivate as they do not have sufficient water to irrigate the crops, have found a solution in solar-powered agricultural pumpsets. Each 5 HP pumpset costs Rs 4.9 lakh, but a subsidy of 89 per cent brings down the cost to Rs 55,000.

Farmers opting for solar-powered mode get a pump set, panels, starter and 100 ft pipe besides maintenance and insurance for a five-year-long period. The scheme has been extended to 34 mandals in the district including Gokavaram, Gollaprolu, Jaggampeta, Peddapuram, Pithapuram, Gandepalli and others.

The solar pump sets have a life span of 20 years and the investment can be easily recovered by the farmers as they do not have to pay any power bills. Besides uninterrupted power supply, the farmers can work in their fields in daytime.

Representative of Umar Alishaw Spiritual Centre, Pithapuram, A Prasad says after installing the solar pumpset, he has stopped worrying about frequent power cuts. “Without any disturbance, I manage to water vegetables and flowers, which are spread over an area of four acres at the Centre. The solar pump-set is very helpful to me,” he added.

East Godavari Groundwater Department AD, TVV Satyanarayana said the department has been implementing several Central and State government schemes to make agriculture a profitable profession. He said the Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) water pumping systems for irrigation were granted by the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy about six months ago to a few select States including Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar among others.

NREDCAP East Godavari district manager G Satyanarayana said the government is supplying these pumpsets through the (NREDCAP, which has kicked off an aggressive campaign to educate the masses and create market awareness on feasibility of the sun-tapped energy source. He said that they have been receiving applications from farmers seeking to install solar pumpsets in their fields.

“Unlike in the past when we were supplying only submersible pumpsets, the device now has ahermetically sealed motor close-coupled to the pump body and the whole assembly is submerged in the fluid to be pumped. We are now giving mono block or surface-mounted pumpsets as well. These pumps are of single stage, end suction, uni-casing type fitted with cast iron impeller, and are specially designed for domestic water supply, hotels, apartments, gardens, small farms, agriculture, and industrial application,” explains, NREDCAP, district manager. The mono block pumpsets are suitable for areas, where water level is high, he says, adding that horticulturists are embracing solar pumpsets in a big way.

Anjaneyulu L