Press Information Bureau

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) 

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) 
(Ministry of New and Renewable Energy)

 

हमारेकिसानअन्‍नदाताहैं, ऊर्जादाताबनें।

- Prime Minister NarendraModi

Introduction

 
The Government of India has taken various policy measures to fulfil its commitment made in Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 to have 40 per cent of installed power generation capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.

Government of India approved PM-KUSUM on February 19, 2019 with the objective of providing energy and water security to farmers, enhance their income, de-dieselise the farm sector and reduce environmental pollution.

PM-KUSUM scheme is one of largest initiatives of the world to provide clean energy to more than 35 lakh farmers by solarising their agriculture pump.The scheme has direct employment generation potential.The scheme is likely to generate employment opportunities equivalent to 7.55 lakh job-years for skilled and unskilled workers.

Scheme Components

The Scheme consists of three components:

• 1. Component A: Addition of 10,000 MW of solar capacity through installation of small solar power plants of capacity up to 2 MW
  2. Component B: Installation of 20 lakh standalone solar powered agricultural pumps
  3. Component C: Solarisation of 15 lakh existing Grid-connected Agriculture Pumps

Component-A (Harvesting Solar Energy): Decentralized Grid Connected Solar Power Plants

• Small solar power plants of capacity up to 2 MW can be set-up by individual farmers/ cooperatives / panchayats / Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO) on barren/ fallow/marshy/ pasture or cultivable lands.
• If cultivated fields are chosen for setting up solar power plants, the solar panels are set up above a minimum height so that the farmer can continue to grow crops below solar panels.
• Power generated from solar plants will be purchased by the Distribution Companies (DISCOMs) at tariffs determined by the respective State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs).
• The plant can be installed by the farmer or he can provide his land on lease to a developer, who will install the plant.
• The scheme will open a stable and continuous source of income to the rural land owners for 25 years.
• Farmers will earn up to Rs. 25000 per acre per year if the plant is installed by a developer/ CPSU on the land leased by the farmer and up to Rs. 65000 per acre per year if they install the plant themselves by taking loan from the banks.
• The RBI has included this Component under priority sector lending and therefore Banks will provide loan at competitive rates and on soft terms.
• The solar power plants will be preferably installed within a five-km radius of the notified sub-stations in order to avoid high cost of transmission lines and losses.
• DISCOMs will invite applications from interested beneficiaries. The selected applicants will have to sign PPAs for 25 years with DISCOMs and install the plant as per the provisions of the scheme guidelines and applicable rules and regulations.
• The solar power purchased under this component will also help the DISCOMs to meet their Renewable Energy Purchase Obligation (RPO) target.

Component-B (De-dieselisation of Farm Sector): Installation of Standalone Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps

 

• Individual farmers can replace their existing diesel pumps with solar pumps.Group of farmers, such as Water User Associations and community/cluster based irrigation systems will also be covered under this component.
• This component will benefit 20 lakh farmers in off-grid areas, where there is no source of electric powerfor irrigation.
• It will also help in increasing the farmer’s income and living conditions.
• Central Financial Assistance (CFA) of 30 per cent of the benchmark cost (fixed by MNRE every year) of the stand-alone solar agriculture pump will be provided.
• The State Government will give a subsidy of 30 per cent and the remaining 40 per cent will be provided by the farmer.
• In North-Eastern States, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Lakshadweep and A&N Islands, higher CFA up to 50 per cent of the benchmark cost of the standalone solar pump will be provided.
• All solar pumps installed under this Component will be provided with remote monitoring systems so that the functioning of any pump can be monitored on a real-time basis.

Component-C: Solarisation of Agriculture Feeders

• Government of India will provide 30 per cent subsidy for solarisation of agricultural feeders.This will lower the cost of capital and cost of power.
• The farmers will get day-time reliable power for irrigation free of cost or at tariff fixed by their respective state.
• The requirement of total annual power for an agriculture feeder will be assessed and a solar power plant of capacity that can cater to the requirement of annual power for that agriculture feeder can be installed either through DISCOM’s own expenditure (CAPEX mode) or utilising the services of independent Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO mode)
• In CAPEX mode, the annual subsidy being presently provided for supply of electricity to agriculture pumps by State Government can be used to repay the loan in five to six years after which solar power will be available free of cost and outflow from State Government’s exchequer on account of electricity subsidy for agriculture will come to an end.
• For installation of feeder level solar power plant, CFA of 30 per cent (50 per cent in case of NE States, hilly states/ UTs and Island UTs) will be provided for CAPEX/ RESCO Mode by Central Government and balance will be met through loan from NABARD/PFC/REC.

Expected outcome

• Day-time reliable power for irrigation: Providing solar panels for irrigation under PM-KUSUM would result in day-time reliable power to farmers making irrigation easier for them and also avoiding over-use of water and power.
• De-dieselization of farm sector by replacing Diesel Pumps with Solar Pumps: By replacing diesel pumps with solar pumps and panels, the farmers will get cheaper and more reliable power for irrigation resulting savings in diesel cost.
• Enhancing Farmers’ Income: PM-KUSUM will serve this objective by replacing high cost diesel with less expensive solar energy under Component-B and by enabling farmers to sell surplus solar power at a pre-determined rate to DISCOMS under Component-C.
• Reducing the agriculture electricity subsidy burden on states and improving the financial health of DISCOMs: PM-KUSUM will help address this issue by reducing subsidy required from states for electricity supply to agriculture. The annual subsidy can be used to repay the loan in five to six years after which solar power will be available free of cost and outflow from State Government’s exchequer on account of electricity subsidy for agriculture will come to an end. It will also contribute to reducing transmission losses, further helping the financial health of DISCOMs.
• Curbing Climate Change: PM-KUSUM will lead to reducing carbon emissions by as much as 32 million tonnes of CO2 per annum.
• Boosting Domestic Solar Manufacturing: India’s immediate aim is to achieve 100 GW of solar power capacity by the year 2022. PM-KUSUM has a mandatory requirement for deploying domestically produced solar cells and modules under Component B and C. This will create demand of 20.8 GW for domestically produced solar cells and modules and thus give a fillip to domestic solar manufacturing.
• Reducing the Import Bill: PM-KUSUM will lead to an annual reduction in diesel consumption of 1.38 billion litres per annum, thus reducing the import bill on account of petroleum products.

Key steps taken under the scheme

• The initially approved scheme aimed at adding solar capacity of 25.75 GW by 2022. The total central financial support provided under the scheme was over Rs. 34,000 Cr.
• In the Budget for 2020-21, expansion of the scheme was announced, which was later approved by Government with inclusion of feeder level solarisation as a new variant under Component-C. With the expansion, the targeted solar capacity addition under the scheme would be 30.8 GW.
• Based on the demand received from the states, sanction has been issued during 2019-20 and 2020-21 for installation of 4909 MW capacity of small solar power plants, installation of 3.59 lakh standalone solar pumps and solarisation of over 10 lakh existing grid connected pumps.
• Under Component-A, the states of Rajasthan, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh have issued LoAs for installation of small solar power plants of around 750 MW capacity to over 650 applicants.Other States are at different stages of implementation.
• Under Component-B, state implementing agencies issued LoAs to selected vendors for installation of over 51,000 pumps. Up to 31.03.2021, over 40,000 solar pumps have been reported installed in the fields
• Under Component-C, Rajasthan successfully completed solarisation of three pilot feeders of its three DISCOMs and issued LoA for individual pump solarisation of around 10000 existing grid connected pumps.Other states are at different stages of implementation.
• Under recently introduced variant of Feeder Level Solarisation, more than 43 lakh pump demands have been received from states against the sanction capacity of 15 lakh pumps.Since demand from other states is awaited, so far, 9.25 lakh pumps have been allocated to states.

 

Source: PIB e-Booklet on PM-KUSUM

 

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