The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued a new guideline for setting up of 10 lakh solar power pumps under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) scheme.
10 lakh agriculture pumps are planned to be solarised by 2022 under “Component C” of the scheme.
Initially one lakh grid-connected pumps are targeted to be solarised on pilot basis and further scale-up will be carried out after the evaluation of the pilot phase.
The guideline aims at ensuring reliable day time power supply for irrigation, reducing subsidy burden on power distribution companies and providing additional sources of income to the farmers.
The scheme will support setting up solar photovoltaic capacity up to two times the pump capacity in kilowatts (kW) so that farmers can use the power to meet their irrigation needs and generate additional income by selling surplus solar power to discoms.
The guidelines for the implementation of PM KUSUM Scheme were issued in July this year , it was then said that that central public sector undertakings and state implementation agencies will carry out the tendering process.
The centre will provide Central Financial Assistance up to 30 per cent of the cost of solarisation of the pump for solar PV components including solar modules, controllers or inverters, balance of system, installation & commissioning on the basis of benchmark cost or cost discovered through tender.
CFA will be provided for solarisation of pumps up to 7.5 HP. Solarisation of Pumps of capacity higher than 7.5 HP is also allowed, however, the CFA in such cases would be limited to the CFA applicable for pump of 7.5 HP in the respective State/UTs.
MNRE will develop a central monitoring portal which will extract data from the State portals for monitoring of the scheme and analyse data generated, which will in turn be used in scheme refinement and taking measures to attract more farmers to the scheme and induce required behavioural changes.