Indore-based Solarsure, an engineering, procurement and construction firm, has commissioned plants with a capacity of over 300 MW under the PM -KUSUM scheme, benefitting farmers. It has in the pipeline projects totalling 1.5 GW, said its founder Bhavesh Patidar.
The company has enabled over 50,000 farmers in the country to get irrigation through solar power through the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Uttan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) scheme.
This has cut the dependence on erratic power supply in some of the underdeveloped rural areas and diesel, while increasing farmers’ income by 30 per cent. “We are not just raising the income of the farmers, we are also creating a huge impact in the society,” said Patidar.
Cutting input costs
Solarsure says its objective is not just about installing solar infrastructures, but giving farmers predictability: the ability to irrigate on time, reduce input costs, and in many cases, generate surplus power.
In regions where electricity access has historically been unreliable, this shift is directly impacting crop cycles, yield quality, and financial stability at the household level, he said.
The company mainly operates in the PM-KUSUM space, where it is the leader. Then, it works with the carbon-neutral industrial (CNI) sector, helping units to reduce their electricity bills and make them comply with deregulations. These units have certain regulations, mainly to reduce pollution.
Solarsure, which is focussing on farmer-first deployment of solar plants in States such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, is waiting for the implementation of PM-KUSUM 2.0. “The policy is yet to be published,” said the company’s founder.
After signing PPA
Under the KUSUM scheme, a plant with 500 kW or 2 MW can be established. Farmers typically reach out to companies such as Solarsure once they sign a power purchase agreement (PPA) for setting up solar power plants.
The PPA provide the company with the necessary land to establish the plant. The company sets up the plant on behalf of the farmers, who benefit from the income that is generated from the plant.
“We explain the entire cycle, how we’ll go about developing a plan, the different stages and where we need their support. In addition, we discuss components that we will be installing on their farms and what kind of returns they could expect from the power generation,” said Patidhar.
Farmers are offered three options. One is to sell the power to the government, and different plans are made available. Solarsure promotes the use of agri-voltex or agri-PVs. This will help farmers get double the benefit as they can sow crops, while also selling power to the government.
Reaching out to farmers
There is no wastage of land due to this, he said and added that the company charges a nominal fee of ₹0.5 to ₹1 per watt. “If it is a 500 megawatt plant, we charge around ₹5-7 lakh,” he said.
Solarsure initially began with a plant in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district. Soon, it expanded to Khargone, Barwani, Malwa, Neemuch, Mandsaur, Gwalior and Morea districts.
Farmers are becoming aware of the company through its YouTube channel, while there are other channels to promote its services, said Patidar. The setting up of such solar power plants helps other farmers too.
“When we established a 2 megawatt plant near my village in Indore district, the farmers were getting electricity for only 4 hours during the daytime. They had to wake up in the middle of the night to irrigate their plants. Once we installed the power plant, they have been getting power continuously in the entire area,” said the company’s founder.
Tapping AI
Solarsure makes use of artificial intelligence for setting up the power plants. It taps in satellite data on weather provided by agencies such as the Indian Space Research Organisation and NASA to combine for risk evaluation.
“All these data sources are combined, and risk is evaluated for any given land. What if the wind speed reaches 100 miles per hour?Can the land withstand such harsh conditions? What problem can climate change create? You never know what will happen after 25 years,” said Patidar.
The AI is used to assess these risks and come up with designs to withstand such risks. It is also used to decide on configuration, routing of cables under the group and optimising the per kilowatt hour unit generation every day.
“The government imposes penalty for not meeting the assured output. The AI helps in forecasting and helps farmers inform authorities a day earlier on the power they will be injecting into the system,” he said, adding that it will ensure that a plant can be maintained to last its lifetime of 25 years.
Solarsure also manufactures equipment besides setting up the plants. The company is facing grid connectivity issues, while the transmission line infrastructure is old. The company is now expanding its footprint into transmission to develop the necessary infrastructure and make renewable energy products.
Published on April 7, 2026