Suryashakti Kisan Yojana (SKY) Gujarat - Solar Panel Scheme for Farmers

Gujarat government had launched Suryashakti Kisan Yojana (SKY) for farmers welfare. Under this scheme, farmers can use solar energy for irrigation purposes and can also sell the surplus power via grid. For installation of solar panels, farmers only had to pay 5% upfront of the total cost. Central & State govt. provided subsidy of 60% while for the rest 35%, the state govt. gave low cost loans to the farmers for 7 years.

Note: Suryashakti Kisan Yojana was a pilot solarisation scheme launched in 2018 for a limited set of farmers and agriculture feeders in Gujarat. There is no fresh update on this scheme for 2026, and new applications do not appear to be open at present. Farmers looking for solar subsidy support can check the PM-KUSUM scheme on the official website mnre.gov.in, or contact their local DISCOM office for the current status.

Farmers can generate power through these solar panels and can sell it to the state government. Govt. procured electricity at a rate of Rs. 7 per unit for 7 years while at Rs. 3.50 for the remaining 18 years. SKY scheme was expected to cover 15 lakh farmers in 33 districts and to provide them with solar power through 7,060 feeders.

Gujarat Suryashakti Kisan Yojana Latest Update

Gujarat CM started Suryashakti Kisan Yojana as a power harvesting scheme for Gujarat farmers. This scheme lets farmers generate electricity by installing solar panels in their farms for their own use and also earn from selling the surplus power. Gujarat Suryashakti Kisan Yojana pilot phase was launched on 19 October 2018 from Bardoli district.

Gujarat Suryashakti Kisan Yojana Details

State govt. of Gujarat implemented Suryashakti Kisan Yojana or SKY scheme in the state. The main aim was to use solar energy to generate power. Farmers could generate electricity and use it for irrigation purpose and sell the additional energy via grid. Scheme was for farmers already connected to the grid. Desirable to include as many farmers as possible on a given AG feeder. Farmer's on a feeder had to form a committee for ease of communication & implementation.

Farmer was provided with a grid-connected solar PV system. 1.25 kW PV system was provided per hp (For eg- 10 hp = 12.5 kW PV system). Installation was through empanelled installers at competitively discovered rates. "SKY" feeder was to be kept ON during daytime for 12 hours.

Suryashakti Kisan Yojana Funding

Cost Share

• 5% Minimum upfront investment from farmer
• 35% Loan on behalf of farmer
• 30% Subsidy from Govt. of Gujarat (through loan)
• 30% Subsidy from Govt. of India

Loan Facilitation

State Govt. took a loan of 65% of capital expenditure from NABARD at <=6% interest for 7 years.

Suryashakti Kisan Yojana Returns

Net Metering

• Farmers would use the solar electricity, and put the surplus generated electricity into the grid.
• Farmer's would earn revenue based on net evacuated energy at the end of the billing cycle.

Revenue During First 7 Years

• Rs. 3.50 per kWh, feed-in tariff by DisCom, plus
• Rs. 3.50 per kWh, evacuation-based incentive (subsidy) by Govt. of Gujarat upto a maximum of 1,000 kWh per hp per year of contract load.

Revenue During Next 18 Years

Rs. 3.50 per kWh, feed-in tariff by DisCom

Net Revenue

Farmer was regularly credited revenue after deduction of loan EMI.

Major Benefits of Suryashakti Kisan Yojana

• Relief from electricity bill.
• Additional income from sale of surplus electricity.
• 12 hours of daytime grid-quality power.
• Return on investment within 8 to 18 months.
• Ownership of PV system after loan repayment.
• 7 years performance guarantee on PV system.
• Insurance on PV system by State Govt.
• Land under PV modules can be used for cropping.
• Option of increasing height of PV modules.
• Development of rural economy.

Environment Benefits from Suryashakti Kisan Yojna

• Clean energy generation
• Avoid requirement of large parcels of land
• Incentive for efficient water use

Technical Benefits from Suryashakti Kisan Yojana

• Improved transmission & distribution efficiency
• Maximum use of existing grid infrastructure
• Avoid setting up dedicated transmission facility

SKY Benefits to Public

• Reduction in cross-subsidy surcharge
• Reduction in government subsidy burden

Salient Features of SKY Scheme in Gujarat

Important features and highlights of this SKY scheme are as follows:-

• Solar Panels Purchase Cost - Out of the total cost, farmers only had to pay 5%. 60% was given as subsidy amount while 35% was given as low interest rate loans for 7 years. The loan repayment time was fixed at 7 years.
• Selling Additional Power - Farmers could sell the additional power to state government. For first 7 years, govt. purchased power at a cost of Rs. 7 per unit while govt. purchased the power at Rs. 3.5 per unit for next 18 years.
• This scheme gave relief to the farmers and also generated additional income. Farmers could recover the cost of investment within the next 8 to 18 months.
• Before this scheme, farmers were getting electricity for 8 hours for irrigation purpose. After implementation of this project, farmers got electricity upto 12 hours.
• Suryashakti Kisan Yojana also worked on the concern of farmers getting power supply only at night.
• Extra Earnings for the Govt. - Farmers in Gujarat pay around 50 paise / unit for electricity supply for irrigation purposes. The state government spends about Rs. 4,500 - 5,000 crore per year as subsidy on electricity for irrigation purpose. This subsidy cost could come down with proper rollout of SKY Scheme.

Overview of Suryashakti Kisan Yojana in Gujarat

Govt. made an effort to install 100 giga watts (GW) of energy capacity from solar power. This move supported PM Modi's vision of "Doubling Farmers Income".