In India, a specially designed high performance solar-powered water pump was recently launched by SunEdison meant for agriculture purpose. Featuring rugged structural design, pumps are available in 3HP (horsepower), 5HP, 7.5HP and 10HP variants.
SunEdision solar powered pump system. Photo: EPCworld
Designed by R&D teams in California and Bangalore, the latest innovation is claimed to be a perfect solution for farmers who need year-round cultivation and predictable daytime irrigation.
“SunEdison’s solar water pump solution addresses and enables a large and growing market. It is a tremendous opportunity for us to grow our business and help people transform their lives.”- Ahmad Chatila, President and CEO of SunEdison
There are about 26 million irrigation pumps in India and of this, about 8 million run on diesel power with the rest using grid power. The solar powered pumps will enable farmers to grow cash crops that require predictable irrigation and more importantly, they will be able to utilize land that they previously could not irrigate.
The company expects this innovation to help farmers to increase crop yield by delivering reliable irrigation without dependence on expensive diesel fuel or intermittent electrical power supply. Photo: PR-newswire
Pump features
The solar pumping systems are designed to be rugged, and provide best-in-class performance. It is fitted with high-efficiency 3-phase AC pump complete with pump controller, VSD.
Rugged industrial design ensures reliable performance in the most adverse operating conditions and ensures reliable and safe operation for over 15 years, while allowing for easy maintenance.
How much
The solar water pump will cost around Rs 6 lakhs (RM30,900) which is quite expensive for the rural poor but with some innovative partnership between interested business organisations and the government, this should be made affordable to many.
Source: The Green Mechanics