Solar-powered irrigation emerges as key to food security and rural livelihoods

Yangyel Lhaden

A growing coalition of government agencies, researchers, and development partners is turning to renewable energy–powered irrigation systems to address some of the country’s most pressing challenges—food insecurity, rural joblessness, and climate vulnerability.

Solar lift irrigation, now successfully piloted in Paro and set to expand to Punakha, is emerging as a viable and sustainable alternative to diesel pumps and seasonal gravity-fed channels, which currently serve only a fraction of cultivable land.

“This is about more than just water—it is about transforming agriculture, empowering women, and tackling the climate crisis in a way that is local, inclusive, and scalable,” said Dr Kapil Kapoor (PhD), Regional Director for the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), speaking at a high-level dialogue held in Thimphu yesterday.

Hosted by the Department of Energy in collaboration with International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and IDRC, the event brought together senior government officials, planners, researchers, local leaders, and development partners to chart a path for scaling up renewable energy–powered lift irrigation systems nationwide.

This dialogue was part of under the Women’s Empowerment through Renewable Energy–Powered Lift Irrigation Systems (WERELIS) project funded by IDRC, Canada.

A proven model in Paro

The model has already shown promising results. In Gangri, Shaba, Paro, a solar-powered pump system developed by Department of Agriculture with support from ICIMOD is now irrigating over 80 acres of farmland.

The system replaces diesel-powered pumps that were costly, polluting, and unreliable. Farmers, now organised under a local water user group, manage the system and have signed a community-level Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Bhutan Power Corporation.

This allows the system to export surplus electricity to the grid when solar generation exceeds irrigation needs and draw from it when solar power is insufficient.

The success in Paro has paved the way for a second pilot in Punakha, where, this same system- will be tested.

Weak link in agriculture

With only about three percent of land arable, and 80 percent of that lacking access to reliable irrigation systems, limited water availability remains a major constraint on agricultural productivity.

Over 40 percent of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihood, but declining yields, labour shortages, and climate-induced disruptions are pushing many—especially youth—away from farming.

Current irrigation systems rely heavily on rainwater or traditional gravity-fed canals, which are prone to damage during monsoons or drought. Where water is accessible through streams or shallow aquifers, diesel pumps are often used—but they are expensive to operate, and harmful to the environment.

In contrast, renewable energy–powered lift irrigation offers a cleaner, cost-effective alternative that can deliver water year-round.

According to a landscape assessment conducted under the WERELIS project, there is significant potential to scale up such systems to irrigate more than 60,000 acres of land, generate over 118 megawatt of renewable energy, create 14,000 jobs, and avoid more than 68,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually.

Women at the centre

One of the project’s defining features is its gender-inclusive approach. Women constitute over half of the farming population and bear a disproportionate burden in manual irrigation work. Yet they are often underrepresented in decision-making around water use and infrastructure.

“This technology does not just save time and labour for women—it enables them to participate in planning, ownership, and income-generating roles,” said Sarala Khaling, Head of Resilient Economies and Landscapes at ICIMOD.

In Gangri, the local water user group includes women in key leadership roles, and training has been provided on system management and basic repairs..

Tools to accelerate uptake

To support national scaling of these systems, the project team launched  several technical and planning tools during the dialogue:

During the event, four important initiatives were launched to advance renewable energy-powered irrigation systems.

The Landscape Assessment Report offers a comprehensive mapping of challenges, gaps, and opportunities in current irrigation systems, with 38 targeted recommendations.

The Multi-Criteria Assessment Framework (MCA) was introduced as a decision-support tool to evaluate irrigation projects across economic, technical, environmental, and gender-based criteria.

The PURE Platform, an innovative online geospatial tool developed by ICIMOD, uses satellite imagery and hydrological data to identify irrigation potential and generate pre-feasibility reports within minutes, and the Gangri solar- powered lift irrigation system connected to the national grid was also launched, formalising the community’s role as both energy producer and user.

Participants at the dialogue emphasised that successful scale-up will require coordination across ministries, especially energy, agriculture, and finance, along with support from local governments, civil society organizations (CSOs), and the private sector. There is also a need to develop private sector capacity in designing, installing, and maintaining such systems.

Speakers noted that with an estimated Nu 30 billion in market potential, renewable irrigation could create an ecosystem of green jobs, services, and entrepreneurship.

The participants also said that access to affordable financing remains a key challenge for farmers and cooperatives. While initial capital costs are high, the long-term savings on fuel and the potential for grid-connected revenue make the systems economically viable.

Innovative financing models, such as interest subsidies, rural cooperatives, and results-based grants, were being explored during the dialogue to make the systems more accessible to smallholders.