Shakti Pumps Bags First Solar Pump Order Under PM-KUSUM’s Component C

Shakti Pumps, one of the largest Indian solar pumping companies and a prominent player in the renewable energy sector, has announced the receipt of its inaugural commercial order under the PM-KUSUM scheme Component-C from Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited for the total worth of INR 149.71 Crs. The win is a significant milestone as the PM-KUSUM scheme has been dominated by component B installations so far, which are off grid solar pumps. Component A constituting ground mounted, grid connected  solar plants, and Component C, comprising grid connected solar pumps , have struggled for traction due to various causes until now.

The project involves replacing inefficient electric pump sets with BLDC Solar Pump sets, where the pump set will run on power generated via solar and surplus electricity can be sent to the grid. This benefits farmers across India by enhancing irrigation capabilities, reducing reliance on traditional energy, and providing the opportunity to earn from surplus power sales to Discoms.

Shakti Pumps Chairman Dinesh Patidar said, “This revolutionary action changes ‘Annadata’ (food providers) into ‘Urja data’ (energy providers). Discom would cover its pump set cost of 10 lac in 5 years by saving up to INR 2 lac in yearly energy bills, while farmers may earn up to INR 50,000 per year and up to INR 2.5 lac in 5 years by selling excess power to Discom. Overall, it gives farmers more control over their own lives, improves irrigation capacity, and lessens dependency on conventional energy sources, resulting in energy security for farmers across India.” (This saving calculation is as per internal study anticipated for 10 HP pump Sets).

The scheme benefits Discoms by enabling the purchase of electricity from farmers at INR 3 per unit and selling it at INR 6 per unit, fostering energy efficiency and national energy security thus reducing the tariff subsidy burden. This system will be installed locally and connected to DISCOM distribution network and will result in reduction of T&D loss along with enhancing grid health. At the same time, it will also help Discoms to meet their RPO obligations and reduce carbon footprint by adding solar. This aligns with India’s commitment to achieving 40% installed capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.

Solar pumping systems connected to the grid will be capable enough to perform simultaneous operations, that is, pump operations and energy export to grid at the same time, hence more energy will be injected into the grid while farmers will get more income, while also reducing environmental pollution, and modernizing the agricultural sector. It signifies a substantial step towards prosperity for farmers through the implementation of micro irrigation, ensuring ‘More Crop, Per Drop’, promising good produce quantity, good quality and good price of the farm produce.

In another major order win, Shakti Pumps secured an order worth 10,000 pumps from the Uttar Pradesh government. Earlier, it bagged a contract from Haryana Renewable Energy Department. The firm has also commenced operations in Uganda.

The firm claims that it has more than 35 per cent market share in the PM-KUSUM Scheme.