Rann of Kutch in Gujarat is familiar to everyone, even to the ones who have never been, because it holds an important chapter of our history and freedom struggle. It is said that as you enter Rann of Kutch, you can’t miss the sound of pumps drawing water. But what have changed from the era that was—-is that an increasing number of these pumps to draw brine from well are solared than diesel. The brine after being drawn out is spread on the broad salt pans. The water evaporates, the salt stays behind,
Renewable energy is the toast of the season, especially with the climate change and it’s drastic effects on us. For tropical countries such as ours, solar power should be an important source of energy to run homes, industries and small businesses. The government is seriously pursuing renewable energy as an answer to many of our problems and has set goals to achieve it in near future. Many have debated about it being unrealistic but everyone agrees that it can be life altering if utilised fully. Here is a small success story that will inspire many more hopefully.
Such initiative are commendable, and how it has changed the lives of these women is noteworthy. Despite India being one of the top three producers of salt in the world, the condition of the ones producing wasn’t improving. But a measure such as this is not only eco- friendly but a huge encouragement for the salt pan workers.
According to several reports, one can say that a salt farmer uses an average of 1,400 litres of diesel every season to produce about 700 tonnes of salt. After meeting the costs of production, the farmer earns a profit of only INR 15,000-20,000 for the whole season. But that has changed with the solar technology spearheading the production.
Solar savings
The solar-powered pumps help the salt pan workers save between INR 35,000-40,000 a year because they do not have buy diesel any more. They use the savings to repay the cost of the solar pumps in instalments over three to years.
The salt production business has always been dominated by women. The process requires a large sum of money to run the diesel pumps, eating up almost 70% of the profits. But now with solar pumps, the production costs have drastically reduced. Far from grid-connected electricity, this energy option is a boon to the marginalised section of women (known as Agariyas) who are the biggest salt producers of the country. The Agariyas produce salt from October to May. India’s abundant solar energy potential, with nearly 300 sunny days and high solar radiation, coupled with falling prices of solar photovoltaic panels, offer a powerful clean energy solution to power pumps in rural off-grid areas, including the desert and temporary villages where the Agariyas work and live.
Diesel out, solar in
Currently, there are about 43,000 diesel-powered pumps in the Little Rann of Kutch. The organisation has been able to replace 232 with hybrid pumps. Each solar pump saves 2.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year, according to official reports. 232 solar pumps have saved approximately 900 litres of diesel per season. And when you have a saving, then you wouldn’t mind paying for the pump in instalments. Not only have they brought in more profit, they have increased the salt production by 15%.
India is promoting clean and renewable energy initiatives and has set an ambitious target to install 100GW of energy capacity from solar power in the next few years,this is a small step towards that mammoth goal. For now, we can pat ourselves in the back, but government should work on the road blocks for more such successes to happen.
By Dr. Arvind Kumar President India Water Foundation
