Exploring synergy between solar pumping and nitrogenous fertilizer requirement in India

Abstract

The sustenance of increasing population and climate change obligation have drifted the research towards integrating renewable energy with farming practices. The present study aims to understand the synergy between energy requirements of solar pumping and N-fertilizer in Indian conditions and presenting a techno-enviro-economic benchmark for producing sustainable nitrogenous fertilizer using unused energy from solar pumping at the farm level. Five major crops and their land shares have been identified for each agro-climatic zone, followed by the estimation of irrigation and N-fertilizer requirements, and sizing of solar pumping. The analysis using the surplus energy from solar pumping and N-fertilizer requirement suggests a required yield and rate of 0.126 kg N/kWh and 0.086 kg N/h for meeting 75 percent of the total requirement. A correlation between potential reduction in CO₂ emissions, carbon tax, and cost, in terms of ammonia, the crucial reagent of N-fertilizers, estimates a benchmark cost of 0.768 USD/kg NH₃ at a target emission of 0.5 kg CO₂ eq./kg N. Integrating solar pumping with decentralized N-fertilizer production technology at the farm level can be effectively realized to cater to the irrigation and N-fertilizer requirements using solar energy and contribute to the fields of solar energy, agriculture, and sustainable development.