It is estimated that by 2026, more than three million farmers in India will be able to access underground water using solar pumps. Once they are installed, these pumps can supply water using light from the sun without additional expense. This will increase badly needed food production in parched rural communities throughout India, Africa, and elsewhere. With the extra water they can even grow cash crops which provide income for poor communities. That’s the good news.
The bad news is that as the popularity of solar pumps explodes, they are also depleting the groundwater. One recent study monitored wells in 1,700 groundwater reserves across forty countries. It found disturbing declines in groundwater levels. One hydrologist, from the University of California, Santa Barbara, documented dropping water tables, by as much as three feet or more annually, in places all over the planet.
Source: World Watch, “Beginnings” newsletter, April 4, 2024
