(Proceedings, First International Conference on Renewable Energy, 6–8 October 2004, New Delhi, pp. DE-80).
Agriculture production is already threatened with shortage of electricity supply and unless alternate sources of energy are popularized it is difficult to achieve the target of doubling food grain production to meet future challenges. Solar energy is the most dependable source of power supply for agriculture which has remained neglected in India. High cost of solar photovoltaic agriculture pumpset has scared farmers and financing institutions. Credit institutions are unsure and unaware about financial viability of solar photovoltaic pumpsets. Presently solar photovoltaic pumpsets are installed under different schemes operative in the country. Evaluation of financial viability of solar pumpsets under different conditions shows that these investments are credit worthy under certain set of conditions which are discussed in the paper. The farm models considered in the paper are based on field conditions as observed during field studies in different states.
Agriculture production, Shortage of electricity, High cost, Photovoltaic pumpsets, Farm models
