Balmer District of Rajasthan Installs 70 Solar Powered Tube-wells to Solve Water Issues
With its abundance of sunlight, India has tremendous potential to emerge as one of the leaders in solar power generation.
About 5,000 trillion kWh per year of energy is incident over India’s land area with most parts receiving 4-7 kWh per sq. m per day.
According to the Government of India’s policy for the solar sector – Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) – a target of 20 GW of solar installations by 2022 has been set.
The state of Rajasthan has 10 percent of India’s land, 5 percent of its population, and only 1 percent of its water resources—a disadvantage by a factor of ten for the supply of irrigation water v/s agriculture area.
Image source: India.com
There is an acute water shortage, erratic rainfall and recurring droughts in every district have exacerbated the situation.
Rajasthan is the only state in India, which has established a strong power evacuation network in the desert areas.
The Government of Rajasthan has taken several important initiatives in past to promote the renewable energy section in general and solar energy in particular.
Representative Image (Source: Tata Power Solar)
As of 31 March, India had 6,762 megawatts (MW) of grid-connected solar power projects. Of this, Rajasthan tops the list with around 1,269MW.
The Government of Rajasthan has a unique solution to solve the water issues in the Barmer district of Jaiselmer.
Barmer district is the second-largest district in the Rajasthan state covering about 8.29% of its total area.
Under Mukhyamantri Solar Adharit Nalkoop Yojana (MSANY), people will get 70 solar-powered tube-wells in Barmer district to help them self-reliant on solar energy and use solar power even for agriculture, reports TOI.
Rajasthan Electronics and Instrumentation Ltd, the firm currently handling the project has been given the green signal to spend Rs 11.91 crore for the entire project.
Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Ltd. (REIL) has a prominent place in the electronics industry of Rajasthan. The Company is a joint venture between the Government of India & the Government of Rajasthan, through their respective institutions.
The project is expected to start from December this year, it will help to conserve water and ensure that the region will have access to water 24×7.
The farmers of the district could utilize water for agriculture purposes through irrigation and it opens up more avenues for them to expand their crops.
On successful of this pilot project, the Rajasthan government plans to install 1000 such solar tube wells all over the state along with 400 solar deflouridation plants. (Source: TOI)
