Solar pumps and South Asia’s energy-groundwater nexus: exploring implications and reimagining its future
South Asia’s groundwater economy stands at the threshold of a revolution in adoption of solar irrigation pumps (SIPs). This has potential to unlock the region’s perverse energy-groundwater nexus. In much of South Asia, the price of energy used in irrigation, the only surrogate for water price, fails...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2018-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aae53f |
| _version_ | 1797748171562024960 |
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| author | Tushaar Shah Abhishek Rajan Gyan Prakash Rai Shilp Verma Neha Durga |
| author_facet | Tushaar Shah Abhishek Rajan Gyan Prakash Rai Shilp Verma Neha Durga |
| author_sort | Tushaar Shah |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | South Asia’s groundwater economy stands at the threshold of a revolution in adoption of solar irrigation pumps (SIPs). This has potential to unlock the region’s perverse energy-groundwater nexus. In much of South Asia, the price of energy used in irrigation, the only surrogate for water price, fails to signal the abundance or scarcity of groundwater, resulting in myriad distortions. We analyse these in South Asia’s eight distinct energy-groundwater interaction settings. We then explore SIP promotion policies to ease pressure on scarce groundwater in South Asia’s ‘groundwater depletion zone’ and accelerate groundwater irrigation for poverty reduction in its ‘groundwater abundance zone’. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:01:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-eca09746f4874a9191655e88651f6f8b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:01:06Z |
| publishDate | 2018-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-eca09746f4874a9191655e88651f6f8b2023-08-09T14:38:31ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262018-01-01131111500310.1088/1748-9326/aae53fSolar pumps and South Asia’s energy-groundwater nexus: exploring implications and reimagining its futureTushaar Shah0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0565-8464Abhishek Rajan1Gyan Prakash Rai2Shilp Verma3Neha Durga4International Water Management Institute, Colombo, Sri LankaInternational Water Management Institute, Colombo, Sri LankaInternational Water Management Institute, Colombo, Sri LankaInternational Water Management Institute, Colombo, Sri LankaInternational Water Management Institute, Colombo, Sri LankaSouth Asia’s groundwater economy stands at the threshold of a revolution in adoption of solar irrigation pumps (SIPs). This has potential to unlock the region’s perverse energy-groundwater nexus. In much of South Asia, the price of energy used in irrigation, the only surrogate for water price, fails to signal the abundance or scarcity of groundwater, resulting in myriad distortions. We analyse these in South Asia’s eight distinct energy-groundwater interaction settings. We then explore SIP promotion policies to ease pressure on scarce groundwater in South Asia’s ‘groundwater depletion zone’ and accelerate groundwater irrigation for poverty reduction in its ‘groundwater abundance zone’.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aae53fgroundwater governanceenergy-irrigation nexusconjunctive management of surface and groundwatergroundwaterSouth Asia |
| spellingShingle | Tushaar Shah Abhishek Rajan Gyan Prakash Rai Shilp Verma Neha Durga Solar pumps and South Asia’s energy-groundwater nexus: exploring implications and reimagining its future Environmental Research Letters groundwater governance energy-irrigation nexus conjunctive management of surface and groundwater groundwater South Asia |
| title | Solar pumps and South Asia’s energy-groundwater nexus: exploring implications and reimagining its future |
| title_full | Solar pumps and South Asia’s energy-groundwater nexus: exploring implications and reimagining its future |
| title_fullStr | Solar pumps and South Asia’s energy-groundwater nexus: exploring implications and reimagining its future |
| title_full_unstemmed | Solar pumps and South Asia’s energy-groundwater nexus: exploring implications and reimagining its future |
| title_short | Solar pumps and South Asia’s energy-groundwater nexus: exploring implications and reimagining its future |
| title_sort | solar pumps and south asia s energy groundwater nexus exploring implications and reimagining its future |
| topic | groundwater governance energy-irrigation nexus conjunctive management of surface and groundwater groundwater South Asia |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aae53f |
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