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Solar-powered water pumps are one of the most important means for off-grid communities to access cheap, clean water. Standards are needed for this market to continue to grow, and the IEC is working on appropriate specifications.
Solar PV pumps help communities access water in remote, off-grid areas.
In a small village in Ethiopia, women and girls used to walk miles to collect water from distant ponds and rivers. This was a waste of time that they could not spend at school and which affected the education of the youngest girls. But all this changed when UNICEF, together with its partner CARE, installed a solar-powered water system that supplies more than 6,500 people. This is just one of many examples where solar photovoltaic technology is helping remote communities access water.
Water scarcity may be a growing problem in modern cities (read: When Cities Run Dry: How to Tackle Water Scarcity), but there are parts of the world where it has always been a luxury and is becoming more so as global warming intensifies. According to the United Nations, in 2022, 2.2 billion people lacked access to safely managed drinking water. Four in five people lacking at least basic drinking water services in 2022 lived in rural areas. Much remains to be done to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6), which is to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
From diesel water pumps to solar photovoltaic pumps
One of the ways to ensure that communities living in water-scarce rural areas have access to this essential resource has always been water pumps. The first water pumps date back to the ancient Greeks. Some historians believe that the invention arose from the need to pump bilge water from the Syracuse, a warship that also transported goods and offered luxury travel to a select few.
Whatever the reason, the devices have been used for centuries, and in recent decades they relied on diesel generators or the fossil-fuel-dependent power grid. But in recent years, solar-powered water pumps have been gaining ground at an astonishing rate, especially in sunny areas where water and electricity are hard to access. Solar water pumps use photovoltaic panels to convert sunlight into electricity, which then powers a pump that draws water from groundwater or other sources, such as lakes and rivers.
According to figures published by consultancy Market Research Future, the solar water pump market was estimated to be worth around $28 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach a value of around $52 billion by the end of 2032, almost doubling in less than 10 years.
The pros of solar pumps include cost
One of the obvious advantages of solar water pumps is that they produce no carbon emissions, unlike traditional water pumps. These have been powered by diesel engines in remote, off-grid areas, which emit a lot of greenhouse gases. When water pumps are used in cities, they are connected to the grid, which also often relies on fossil fuels. By switching to solar PV, communities are helping to meet UN SDG 13, which is to take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects.
Other advantages of solar PV devices include their cost: they are often much cheaper to run than diesel pumps, which are dependent on the price of fossil fuels. An example of how cost plays a major role can be found in the Indian state of Gujarat. There, salt farmers traditionally relied on diesel pumps to extract salt water from salt marshes. Communities spent eight months a year extracting salt in a very dry, hot and sunny climate, but could only eke out a subsistence living due to the high cost of diesel fuel. Farmers recently switched to solar PV pumps, a move largely subsidised by the state of Gujarat, and have since greatly improved their standard of living, providing better education for their children and improving their housing. According to one farmer, the switch reduced the cost of salt farming to a third of what it was.
According to Michael Forson, Director of Water and Sanitation at UNICEF Nigeria, the cost of diesel is prohibitive for many communities wishing to improve their access to water. “The price of a litre of diesel can increase so much that many communities cannot afford the fuel to access water. With solar energy, communities have a power supply system that operates at virtually zero cost,” he stresses.
IEC benchmarks for solar water pumps
Solar photovoltaic systems are standardised by one of the IEC technical committees that provides benchmarks for renewable energy systems, TC 82. The IEC 62257 series of technical specifications provides recommendations for small renewable hybrid systems for rural electrification and has been recognised by the World Bank and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). Developing countries can access the series at a reduced price.
One of the TC 82 working groups, led by South African Leon Drotsché and American Arne Jacobson, is working on a technical specification (TS) for solar PV-powered water pumps. The publication specifies test methods for small-scale off-grid solar water pumps (<2 kW PV power) assessing performance, safety, durability and quality. The TS is part of the IEC 62253 series focusing on PV pumping systems and is scheduled for publication in mid-2026.
Photovoltaic technology has many advantages in terms of cost, cleanliness and ease of use. IEC standards are greatly contributing to its widespread adoption, thereby fulfilling several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: from SDG 6, which aims to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, to SDG 13, which seeks to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. |
