BTS in Rural India: PMGSY Solar Water Pumping Scheme

2025-06-19

India’s Rural Energy Dilemma: Connectivity vs. Irrigation

Across India’s 600,000 villages, two critical challenges intersect:

  • 250,000+ telecom BTS sites suffer 8+ hour daily power cuts, relying on diesel gensets that cost operators ₹9,000 crore annually
  • Agriculture’s 18% power demand goes unmet, with 30 million farmers depending on erratic grid/diesel pumps

The PMGSY Scheme (now covering 768,892 km of rural roads) provides the infrastructure backbone to deploy an innovative solution: integrated solar systems powering both telecom towers and irrigation pumps simultaneously.

Technical Breakdown: How Hybrid Solar BTS+Pump Systems Work

Core Components

Telecom Side Pump Side Shared Infrastructure
• 5-10kW solar PV array • 6-12kW solar pump inverter • Smart energy management system (EMS)
• HighJoule HJESS sodium-ion batteries (20-125kWh) • 7.5HP AC motor with VFD • MPPT charge controllers
• IP65 enclosures (50°C rated) • 20,000L/day water output • Remote monitoring platform

Energy Flow Optimization

  • Daytime: Solar PV prioritizes pump operation (peak irrigation hours)
  • Night/Cloudy: Stored battery power ensures 99.9% BTS uptime
  • Excess Energy: Diverted to community microgrids (PM-KUSUM compliant)

PMGSY’s Policy Synergies: Making Projects Viable

Financial Incentives

  • PM-KUSUM: 60% subsidy on solar pumps
  • M-SIPS: 25% capex reimbursement for telecom infrastructure
  • NOFN: Additional grants for digital inclusion projects

Example ROI:

  • 5kW BTS + 3HP pump system (₹18-22 lakhs)
  • 3.2 year payback with subsidies
  • ₹1.2 lakh/year savings vs diesel

Proven Success: Uttar Pradesh & Andhra Pradesh Case Studies

Uttar Pradesh Pilot (2023)

  • 5 solar BTS sites co-located with 8 solar pumps
  • Results:
    1. 98% network uptime (from 72%)
    2. 60% lower irrigation costs
    3. 300+ women accessing Agri-tech via reliable connectivity

Andhra Pradesh Deployment

  • 47 systems over 12 months
  • Outcomes:
    1. 92% diesel reduction
    2. 318 farmers gaining year-round irrigation
    3. 99.4% telecom availability

Why HighJoule’s Solutions Lead the Market

Differentiators

  • Climate-Adapted Design
    1. Liquid-cooled batteries (45-50°C performance)
    2. Anti-dust PV coatings (tested in Rajasthan & Gujarat)
  • Modular Scalability
    1. From single 5kWh BTS (HJ-51.2V100Ah)
    2. To 1MWh cluster solutions (like Eritrea 2MWh project)
  • End-to-End Compliance
    1. PMGSY road access planning
    2. PM-KUSUM subsidy documentation
    3. DISCOM grid-tie approvals

Implementation Roadmap (8–16 Weeks)

Key Steps:

  • Terrain mapping (solar irradiance + water table depth)
  • Load profiling (BTS power demand vs pump requirements)
  • Energy-sharing algorithm customization

The Future: Aligning with India’s 2030 Goals

This model directly supports:

  • 50% diesel reduction in telecom (DoT target)
  • 100% 4G coverage (BharatNet initiative)
  • Climate-smart agriculture (PM-KUSUM Phase-III)

Author: Wei Pan

I'm Wei Pan, a technical engineer at HighJoule specializing in base station energy storage products and solutions. I focus on optimizing system performance and delivering reliable, scalable energy solutions.