PM-KUSUM Scheme: Over 8,000 Pilibhit Farmers to Use Solar Powered Tube Wells

The conventional & old tube well, which was powered by electricity, has been replaced by a solar tube well. Due to frequent load shedding and rising energy prices, solar-powered tube wells can be considered a reliable and cost-effective source of irrigation water when compared to electric or diesel-powered tube wells.

In order to significantly reduce the cost of irrigation's electricity, NEDA (Non-Conventional Energy Development Agency) and the UP Power Corporation collaborated to outfit grid-connected agricultural tube wells with solar devices.

The additional power produced by the system will be fed into the electrical grids, with the value being paid back to the concerned farmers. For five years following the date of installation, the state government will also provide free maintenance for the solar power equipment. A 25-year warranty would be provided for solar panels made by NEDA.

A farmer from the village of Baivaha, Sukhwant Bindra, welcomed the programme and noted that it was the first time farmers would receive payment for any solar energy that was not used to irrigate their fields. "The department has so far assigned 8,600 electricity connections for tube wells," said SK Madhukar, the superintending engineer of the electricity department.

We have not yet received instructions on how to pay farmers for solar energy they have contributed to power grids. "The cost of the solar system including the panels, net metering equipment, structure, etc. was assessed at Rs 65,000 per kilowatt of which 90% subsidy was provisioned for general and backward communities," said Atul Kumar Shrivastav, a project officer for NEDA.

He added, "Farmers from scheduled castes and tribes as well as the Mushahar and Bantania communities will receive a 100% subsidy. The programme would run through the 2026–2027 fiscal year."