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Energy requirements of farm machinery for land preparation, groundwater irrigation and harvesting have been studied. Use of tractors and power tillers have been studied for land preparation. The use of diesel pumps, electric pumps and solar pumps for groundwater irrigation has been analysed. Use of Tractor powered combine harvesters and Self Propelled Combine Harvesters has been studied for energy demand of harvesting process. Socio-economic, environmental and technical variables were identified to study the water and energy demand of agriculture. Historical data has been compiled according to the variables identified. The states for this study have been chosen on the basis of the number and penetration of farm machinery and groundwater irrigation pumps. The selected states are Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Uni-variate regression has been applied to forecast the future farm machinery and groundwater requirements. Based on this, the future demand for energy and water has been forecast in Business as Usual (BAU) scenario. The related costs and emissions have been also estimated. Two alternative scenarios, Energy Efficient and Moderate Solar growth (EEMSG) and Aggressive Solar Growth (ASG) were used to study the role of water efficiency, efficient electric pumps and solar pumps in making use of energy and water more sustainable.
From the analysis, it has been established that reduction in energy demand and CO2 emissions is possible with an increase in the use of solar pumps and efficient electric pumps. Further, an improvement in water efficiency leads to significant reduction in energy demand of electric pumps by 2030. Uttar Pradesh alone has the potential to reduce water consumption by 30 BCM. On an average, around 36% and 42% energy demand for electric pumps can be reduced in EEMSG and ASG scenarios respectively w.r.t BAU in 2030.
Keywords: Agriculture, Energy, Water, Electricity, Solar Pumps
