SoLAR Phase II – Key Points

Who Launched It?

• International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
• Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
• Launch date: 28 November 2025

What Is It?

• SoLAR Phase II (Solar Irrigation for Agricultural Resilience) is an expanded multi-country programme to accelerate socially inclusive, climate-resilient solar energy adoption in agriculture.
• Countries covered:
  • India
  • Bangladesh
  • Kenya
  • Ethiopia

Timeline

• July 2025 – December 2028

Building on SoLAR Phase I (2019–2024)

• Phase I generated evidence on:
  • Technical performance
  • Economic viability
  • Environmental impacts
• Focused on solar irrigation pumps (SIPs):
  • Grid-connected
  • Off-grid

Objectives of SoLAR Phase II

• Scale solar irrigation technologies in a climate-resilient and socially inclusive manner.
• Support policy implementation by working with:
  • National and state governments
  • Implementing agencies for agricultural solarisation
• Promote sustainable and efficient water-energy management in farming.

India’s Relevance

• India is already promoting agricultural solarisation through:
  • PM-KUSUM
    • Supports solar pumps
    • Promotes decentralised solar plants
• SoLAR Phase II complements these efforts by:
  • Providing research-backed insights
  • Supporting international scaling across South Asia and Africa

Overall Significance

• Advances clean energy transition in agriculture
• Enhances resilience against climate impacts
• Strengthens water security and reduces dependence on fossil-fuel or grid-powered irrigation

Source: DTE