Govt plans to install 20,000 solar pumps in four years

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) has announced to install solar pumps across the state under the solar hydro pumping project.

The Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) has announced to install solar pumps across the state under the solar hydro pumping project.

State Power and Renewable Energy Minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar said the government had decided to implement the solar pumping project in a big way by providing subsidy of up to 80 per cent as agreed in the first Cabinet meeting on March 18, 2017. He said a comprehensive plan had been made for installing 20,000 solar pumps under the 13th Five Year Plan (2017-2022). In the 2018-19 financial year, 2,800 solar pumps with a capacity of 2, 3 and 5 HP would be installed. He said the project would be very beneficial for the state government as well as the farming sector and would lead to conservation of fuel and preservation of environment. He said the process to invite applications from farmers for establishing solar pumps is on.

The CEO of PEDA, NPS Randhawa, said the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy was pushing for the use of solar energy for the irrigational purposes in the agricultural sector since 2000-2001 and is planning to establish 10 lakh solar pumps in the country by 2020-2021 and the Punjab Government is pushing up the unique project with vigour.

Source: The Tribune