Bhutan Turns to Solar Lift Irrigation as Shifting Monsoons Threaten Harvests

A plan to bring reliable water to Bhutan's fields

Bhutan is advancing solar powered irrigation as unpredictable monsoons and drying springs weaken the water supplies that farmers have relied on for generations. A new assessment sets out 38 recommendations for expanding systems that pump water uphill using renewable energy, with pilots operating in Paro and expansion underway in Punakha.

Only about one fifth, or 20 percent, of Bhutan's cultivable land is irrigated. That leaves a large gap in the water infrastructure needed to support reliable harvests and cultivation throughout the year. Agriculture employs a large share of the population, and many households depend on farm income.

The assessment, titled Landscape Assessment of Renewable Energy Powered Lift Irrigation Systems in Bhutan, was funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and supported by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). It covers policy, financing, technical standards, gender equality and social inclusion, environmental safeguards, and maintenance over the life of a system.

The assessment presents renewable energy for irrigation as an immediate need. Its message is expressed in these words:

The report states that using renewable energy for irrigation is no longer a future goal but a present necessity.

Bhutan's challenge reaches beyond buying pumps and solar panels. Farmers need systems they can afford, technicians who can repair them, dependable access to water, and clear agreements about sharing supplies. The assessment brings those requirements into a single plan for making irrigation reliable, financially workable and fair.

Early installations show how the approach can serve fields above rivers and streams. The next task is to turn those individual projects into services that communities can maintain through changing seasons.

How sunlight can move water uphill

Solar lift irrigation uses photovoltaic panels, which turn sunlight into electricity, to power pumps. Those pumps move water from rivers, streams or storage tanks to farmland at a higher elevation. In Bhutan's steep valleys, that difference in height matters: water sources often sit below terraced fields, beyond the reach of channels that depend on gravity.

A typical system combines panels, a controller that regulates electrical output, and either a submersible pump or a surface pump. Pipes carry the water to storage, from where farmers can distribute it through hoses, sprinklers or drip lines. Pipes may run underground or above the surface.

Traditional open channels can lose water through seepage and evaporation. Maintaining them takes substantial labor, and storm damage can interrupt irrigation when crops need it most. Solar pumping can replace or complement those channels, reducing water losses and the work needed to move water around a farm.

Diesel pumps offer another way to lift water, but they bring fuel costs and emissions. Solar systems have no fuel bill. Once installed, their routine upkeep involves cleaning panels, checking wiring and fittings, monitoring pump performance, and replacing worn components on a planned schedule.

Storage is an important part of the design. Farmers can pump during daylight and use stored water later, while tanks help cushion cloudy periods and seasonal changes. Basic remote monitoring can help identify faults early. Systems can serve a small plot or an entire community, depending on their size and the water available.

Standards begin with the water source

The assessment calls for national standards covering design, installation and performance so farmers receive equipment that works beyond the first season or two. It recommends benchmarks for pumps, controllers, wiring, mounting structures, electrical earthing, pipelines and storage.

Uniform protocols would cover solar panel layout, pump sizing, surge protection and pressure testing. Installers would follow checklists and record performance when handing a system over. Certification for equipment and service providers would give buyers greater confidence and help public funding support dependable installations.

Site selection would follow a structured screening and feasibility process. Designers would measure how much water is available across seasons, calculate the height it must be lifted, and account for friction losses as water travels through pipes. Pump selection would match the required flow and head, the pressure needed to raise and move the water.

The assessment also calls for estimates of costs over the system's working life. A low purchase price is only one part of affordability when communities must keep equipment operating and replace components later.

Floods, drought, landslides and temperature extremes would be checked before construction. Suitable designs would include secure anchoring, pipe routes that reduce exposure to damage, and protection against debris and sediment. These measures connect the choice of site directly to the reliability farmers can expect.

Who pays for equipment and water?

Upfront investment is the largest financial barrier. Panels, pumps, controllers and pipelines require capital that many smallholders cannot afford, while existing subsidies and credit lines are insufficient for many households.

The assessment proposes several arrangements to spread costs and risks while supporting shared ownership and maintenance:

• Asset leasing, in which a provider owns the equipment and farmers pay a monthly fee.
• Water as a service, in which farmers pay for the volume delivered or for a season of supply.
• Community ownership, in which a group pools resources and manages a shared installation.
• Contracts that allow farmers to lease equipment and become its owners over time.

Public and development funding could be combined with private capital to lower interest rates and give borrowers longer repayment periods. Concessional finance, meaning loans on more favorable terms, could support early projects and reduce borrowing costs for communities.

Targeted subsidies would help remote or disadvantaged areas. The assessment also recommends incentives tied to operating time and verified water delivery, rather than simply counting installations. That would connect financial support to the service farmers actually receive.

India's PM KUSUM program provides a regional example of subsidies and service arrangements supporting adoption of solar pumps. Market analysis points to continuing growth in solar irrigation, driven by demand for efficient water use, with drip and sprinkler systems pairing well with solar pumping.

Those approaches offer options for Bhutan as it develops its own policies, financing and service networks. Their practical value lies in how they can reduce the initial burden on farmers while keeping responsibility for maintenance clear.

Women need a place in design and maintenance

Women make up more than half of Bhutan's agricultural workforce, yet they remain underrepresented in irrigation planning, finance and technical roles. The assessment calls for gender equality and social inclusion measures throughout project selection, funding, training and monitoring.

Its proposals include clear criteria that give priority to benefits for women and marginalized groups, access to credit and land documents where needed, and measurable indicators for tracking results. Participation would extend from decisions about a project to the technical work needed to keep it operating.

The Women's Empowerment through Renewable Energy Powered Lift Irrigation Systems in Bhutan project, known as WERELIS, is implemented by ICIMOD with the Department of Energy and the Bhutan Ecological Society, with IDRC funding. It is providing targeted training for female technicians and system operators.

A program lasting one day focuses on practical operation and maintenance, including preventive checks and basic troubleshooting. In August 2025, a design course lasting two days in Thimphu trained 33 participants from government, training institutes and private firms, with particular attention to women engineers. It covered system sizing, component selection and design using software, and participants received certificates of participation.

The assessment proposes national certification programs for installers and operators, alongside manuals in Dzongkha and regional dialects. Field demonstrations, digital knowledge platforms, and partnerships with vocational institutes and universities would help build a continuing supply of people able to design, install and maintain systems for decades.

What Paro, Punakha and Gangri show

A pilot in Paro has demonstrated that solar pumping can supply fields beyond the reach of traditional channels. Expansion into Punakha draws on practical lessons, including storing water for irrigation late in the afternoon and positioning panels for seasonal changes in the angle of sunlight.

In Bali Chiwog, Punakha, a system launched in April 2025 pumps water from the Mochhu River to elevated farmland. Farmers there had faced drying sources and erratic weather, leaving plots uncultivated and incomes uncertain. A steadier supply supports plans for more reliable planting across seasons.

Gangri village provides another example. A solar lift system rated at 16 kilowatts peak (kWp) irrigates about 36 acres and serves 117 people. The Department of Agriculture and ICIMOD implemented the installation, combining solar panels, pumps and pipelines to reach land that gravity alone could not supply.

Farmers in Gangri report easier access to water and less time spent maintaining long earthen channels. The practical change is both access to irrigation and a reduction in the work required to keep water flowing.

The developments described by September 8, 2025, include these milestones:

• April 2025: The Bali Chiwog system launched, lifting water from the Mochhu River.
• August 2025: The design course in Thimphu trained 33 participants over two days.
• September 8, 2025: Pilots in Paro were operating and expansion to Punakha was underway; no timetable for wider national deployment was given.

Protecting shared water and vulnerable equipment

The assessment recommends environmental impact assessment guidelines specifically for irrigation powered by renewable energy. Water is shared, and poorly designed projects can put pressure on local ecosystems.

Proposed safeguards would address excessive extraction that depletes aquifers, disturbance to riverbanks and displacement of wildlife. Project designs should protect water quality and consider fish passages or intake screens where needed.

Climate protection also extends to the equipment. Flood surges can damage intakes and pipes, wind places loads on panels, drought affects water availability, and heat can affect electronics. Adequate storage, robust anchoring, and carefully chosen routes for pipes and cables would reduce exposure to failure.

Integrated Water Resource Management would connect individual schemes to the wider catchment, the area from which water drains into a river or stream. The approach would use local hydrology and climate projections to keep irrigation projects within regional water budgets over time.

Communities also need agreements that make sharing workable. Engagement during planning, fair allocation rules and local mechanisms for resolving conflicts can reduce tensions when land or water use changes.

Clear responsibilities for operation and fee collection, supported by transparent bookkeeping, would help prevent disputes and provide money for upkeep. Technical reliability and community management are closely connected: equipment needs both capable operators and an agreed way to pay for repairs.

Regional lessons meet Bhutan's national priorities

Bhutanese delegates have studied community water systems powered by solar energy in Nepal's middle hills. The learning exchange examined technology selection, shared costs and maintenance planning, with lessons that can transfer to irrigation in similar terrain.

Delegates highlighted the value of a substantial community contribution to project costs. Such participation can strengthen ownership and reliability by giving users a direct stake in how a system is managed.

Bhutan's 13th Five Year Plan gives priority to food and nutrition security and higher farm incomes, with irrigation and water supply among the main tools for achieving those goals.

A project advisory committee formed under WERELIS brings together senior officials to coordinate work across energy, agriculture and local government. That cooperation can reduce duplication and speed decisions on standards, training and finance, all of which need to develop together for wider adoption.

Measuring success after installation

Success will be visible in everyday farming: water reaching fields when needed, lower costs per liter pumped than diesel, and equipment operating reliably during peak irrigation periods. More frequent cultivation on land above rivers and streams would show whether improved access is supporting additional crops.

Drip and sprinkler delivery can help farmers get more production from the water pumped, while storage provides a buffer during dry spells. Reliable irrigation would give households a better basis for deciding what and when to plant.

Spare parts must be available locally, and certified technicians should be able to handle installation and warranty service. Operators need straightforward checklists for panel cleaning, fitting inspections and pump monitoring. Records of faults and repairs can guide training and product improvements.

Universities and technical institutes could help test designs and prepare graduates for work in government, private firms and community enterprises. Publishing standards, installer certifications and performance data with identifying details removed would help communities assess the service they are receiving.

A small number of dependable projects can provide practical places for farmers to learn. Community visits allow people to see pumps and tanks operating and discuss fees and management with peers. Field days and digital platforms can extend exchanges already underway through ICIMOD and its partners, including information on operation and maintenance training.

Farmers will choose solar pumping when water arrives predictably, costs are fair and someone is available when equipment fails. Bhutan's assessment treats those everyday requirements as central to expanding irrigation, alongside the panels and pumps themselves.

The Bottom Line

• A new assessment sets out 38 recommendations for expanding irrigation powered by renewable energy in Bhutan.
• About 20 percent of cultivable land is irrigated, limiting reliable harvests and cultivation throughout the year.
• Pilots are operating in Paro, with expansion underway in Punakha.
• Bali Chiwog's system launched in April 2025; Gangri's 16 kWp installation irrigates about 36 acres and serves 117 people.
• Proposed financial tools include leasing, payments for water services, community ownership, targeted subsidies and incentives tied to delivery.
• National standards, certification, climate risk screening and environmental safeguards are central recommendations.
• Women account for more than half of the agricultural workforce, and WERELIS training is building technical skills and participation.
• Local repairs, spare parts, fair allocation rules and transparent finances will be essential to keeping systems running.