Solar Pumps and Water-Energy Nexus in Gujarat, India: First Assessment of the World’s Largest Pilot on Grid-connected Solar Irrigation Pumps

Abstract The epicentre of Gujarat’s perverse nexus between electricity subsidy and groundwater depletion lies in its legacy of 485,000 unmetered tubewell owners who have fiercely resisted metering for 20 years. These comprise 40 percent of Gujarat’s irrigation connections but account for 49 percent of agricultural load, 71 percent of energy use in groundwater abstraction and 90 percent of farm power subsidies. Suryashakti Kisan Yojana (SKY), a large, state-wide pilot project which solarised and net-metered 4215 tubewells and began paying farmers for evacuating surplus solar energy, has been enthusiastically embraced by unmetered and metered farmers alike. SKY promises politically acceptable resolution of a wicked energy-water conundrum that afflicts much of India and west Asia. Mainstreaming SKY can significantly reduce groundwater overdraft, GHG emissions and subsidy burden. It will increase farm incomes while radically improving energy-water accounting and management. Gujarat government should invest in compulsory, free-of-cost solarisation of tubewells. We show that doing so is profitable for government and beneficial for farmers, climate and environment.