More Than 2.95 Lakh Off-Grid Solar Water Pumps Installed Under PM-KUSUM, Parliament Told

More Than 2.95 Lakh Off-Grid Solar Water Pumps Installed Under PM-KUSUM, Parliament Told. Pexels.

Centre today apprised the Parliament that over 2.95 lakh standalone off-grid solar water pumps have been successfully installed as part of the PM-KUSUM scheme. Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy and Power, RK Singh, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha said that 2.95 lakh water pumps functioning on a standalone basis on off-solar grid have been installed under Central government’s PM-KUSUM scheme. The scheme aims to provide farmers with energy and water security, ultimately boosting their income.

The scheme comprises three key components with component A that comprises establishment of 10,000 MW of decentralized solar power plants on barren/fallow/pasture/marshy/cultivable land owned by farmers. This component is open to participation from various entities, including individual farmers, solar power developers, cooperatives, panchayats, and farmers’ producer organizations.

Component B comprises installation of 14 lakh stand-alone solar pumps in off-grid areas. While Component C is about solarisation of 35 lakh grid-connected agriculture pumps through individual pump solarization and feeder-level solarization.

The reply further noted that as of January 31, 2024, Component A has witnessed a total sanction of 4766 MW, with 165.28 MW installed. Component B boasts 12,94,787 sanctioned solar pumps, with 2,95,823 pumps installed. For Component C, the number of sanctioned units for Individual Pump Solarization (IPS) and Feeder Level Solarization (FLS) are 1,61,204 and 33,76,466, respectively, while the number of installed units stands at 7384.

Moreover, Rajasthan has so far topped the list in solar water pump installations, a state agriculture department official has claimed. More than 62,000 farmers have directly benefited from the scheme introduced by the state government four-and-a-half years ago.

Other states, such as Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra have been extremely slow to take off with respective capacities of 500 MW, 424 MW, 600 MW, 700 MW being sanctioned. However, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu despite the ambitious sanctioned capacities have failed to see installations while Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have installed just 11 MW and 2 MW respectively.