The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has issued a tender for the empanelment of vendors to design, manufacture, install, and commission 7,500 solar water pumps of 7.5 HP with the provision of data transfer by automated metering reading (AMR) to MSEDCL’s server.

The projects are expected to be set up on sites owned by farmers identified across the state.

Selected vendors are expected to provide a guarantee of five years for the solar water pumping system and ten years for the solar modules that are going to be installed.

The last date for submission of bids is October 17, 2019.

In December 2018, Maharashtra floated a similar tender for the installation of 50,000 solar water pumping systems in the state.

Over the last year, the government has been encouraging the deployment of solar pumps in the country in a bid to provide energy security and financial savings to farmers. Besides, solar water pumps are also expected to help in saving water resources and reducing dependency on the grid.

A joint study by Greenpeace India, Gujarat Energy Research Management Institute (GERMI), and IWMI-Tata Water Policy Program predicted that if net-metered solar pumps are installed across all states for complete agricultural energy consumption, India will surpass its distributed solar goal of 40 GW by a wide margin.

In July 2019, Mercom reported on the launch of the KUSUM program, which aims to add a solar capacity of 25,750 MW through the deployment of solar pumps by 2022 with the central government support of ₹344.22 billion (~$4.99 billion).

In August 2019, the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) also issued a tender for 175,000 of off-grid solar pumps. The scope of work for this project includes design, manufacture, supply, transport, installation, testing, and commissioning, the scope of work will also include warranties, repair, and maintenance of the pumps for five years.

Image credit: Apollo Power Systems