India’s maiden farm-based solar power plant, set up under the Prime Minister’s Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) scheme, has been recently operational in Kotputli tehsil of Jaipur district in Rajasthan. Capable of generating 17 lakh units of electricity per annum, this project is a significant step towards sustainable rural development.
Understanding PM-KUSUM: Intentions and Implementations
Launched by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), the PM-KUSUM initiative aims to encourage off-grid solar pump installations in rural regions, thereby lessening reliance on grid-connected areas. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs greenlit the scheme in February 2019 with the focused objectives of ensuring financial stability and water security.
In the 2020-21 fiscal budget, the government announced plans to extend the scheme to cover 20 lakh farmers for standalone solar pump installations and assist another 15 lakh farmers to solarise their grid-connected pump sets. The move will allow farmers to establish solar power generation capacity on their barren lands and sell excess power back to the grid.
Components of PM-KUSUM Scheme
The PM-KUSUM initiative is split into three components and targets to add a solar capacity of 30.8 GW by 2022:
Component-A emphasizes the establishment of 10,000 MW of decentralized ground-mounted grid-connected renewable power plants.
Component-B deals with the installation of two million standalone solar-powered agriculture pumps.
Component-C promotes the solarisation of 1.5 million grid-connected solar-powered agriculture pumps.
Key Benefits of PM-KUSUM
Helping Discoms: The scheme supports the financial health of electricity distribution companies by easing the subsidy burden related to the agricultural sector. This also aids them in meeting their Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) targets.
Helping States: The initiative fosters decentralized solar power production, thereby minimizing transmission losses and potentially reducing subsidy outlay towards irrigation.
Helping Farmers: Incentivizing power saving, farmers can sell excess power, leading to a reasonable and efficient use of groundwater, income increase, and assuring water sources through solar water pumps — both off-grid and grid-connected.
Helping Environment: By facilitating decentralized solar-based irrigation, the scheme helps reduce reliance on pollutant diesel fuels, thereby expanding irrigation cover.
Addressing Potential Concerns
The implementation of the scheme has raised several logistical concerns pertaining to domestic equipment availability. With strict Domestic Content Requirements (DCR), suppliers of solar equipment must increase domestic cell sourcing. Unfortunately, the existing domestic cell manufacturing capacity is insufficient to meet the demand.
Further, the scheme largely overlooks small and marginal farmers, focusing instead on pumps of 3 HP and higher capacities. This focus deviates from the needs of the majority of farmers, nearly 85% of whom are deemed small & marginal. Additionally, low water tables, especially in North India and parts of South India, hinder the effectiveness of small-sized pumps.
Another issue is the depletion of water tables due to subsidized power. The recurring cost of electricity is so low that persistent water pumping leads to falling water table levels. Upgrading to higher capacity pumps becomes challenging in such situations due to the high costs of additional solar panels.
A Concerted Way Forward
The success of this decentralized solar power scheme hinges on the consensus between the Centre, States, and stakeholders. Any reforms in India’s power space should be concerted efforts by all parties.
Farmers must also consider switching to drip irrigation methods, which save water and power while increasing crop output. Effective implementation and more substantial stakeholder participation can be achieved if the scheme becomes more attractive in terms of benchmark prices, taking into account the challenges due to higher implementation costs and comprehensive maintenance.
