For six years, Pravinbhai Parmar’s farm in Gujarat state in western India has been lined with rice, wheat and solar panels.
The 36-year-old is among a handful of farmers in his native Dhundi village who have been using solar power to irrigate crops.
“I was spending nearly 50,000 rupees ($615) every year to water my crops,” said Parmar. “With solar I spend nothing.”
Parmar also sells the excess electricity to his state’s grid, earning an average of 4,000 rupees ($50) a month.