High in the misty hills of Arunachal Pradesh, at nearly 3,600 feet above sea level, lies a small village in Longding district that had long struggled with something most of us take for granted – clean drinking water. Each year, as the dry winter months rolled in, the tribal communities in this region have faced acute water shortages in the absence of any direct water source. In a place where access to roads, power, and infrastructure is scarce, the dream of safe, regular water supply once felt far out of reach. But that changed, thanks to a unique convergence of government vision, engineering innovation, and solar power.
ABB’s innovative solar pump drive that can reliably harness solar power with no dependency on grid power was the ideal solution for this off-grid location. As part of ‘Jal Jeevan Mission,’ a government program in India that aims to provide every rural household with safe drinking water by 2024, specialized water pumps were installed for high-pressure pumping under a project facilitated by the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), Arunachal Pradesh.
A key part of the system is ABB’s 110 kilowatt (kW) ACQ80 solar pump drive, which controls a high-efficiency 93 kW IE3 ABB motor, operating KSB’s specialized HDA 125 HP high-pressure pump. Together, they form a fully off-grid water pumping system, powered by a dedicated solar plant generating 3,800 kilowatt hour (kWh) of clean energy per day. The pumping station, located near the water source around Longphong village, lifts the water about 500 meters uphill using this state-of-the-art solar-driven setup through a 2.2-km pipeline to ensure reliable water supply to about 150 homes in the village.
The drive ensures that the pump operates at an optimal speed while making water available consistently. Conventional booster pumps running at full speed all the time also results in high energy use. By controlling the pump motor, the drive is ensuring efficient adjustment to the limited and variable solar power availability throughout the day while operating without energy costs easily and safely. Keeping carbon emissions to zero, the drive ensures the full utilization of the available solar energy. It is also Bluetooth-enabled, allowing local operators to monitor and troubleshoot the system remotely via smartphone or laptop, a critical feature in a region where physical access is often limited.
“With this crucial project, ABB not only supports India’s vision for universal water accessibility under the Jal Jeevan Mission but also demonstrates how innovative technology can solve infrastructure challenges in remote areas. With our deep understanding of high-pressure pumping applications and our success in solar water pumping, we are proud to support this project and help ensure easy access to clean drinking water,” said AR Madhusudan, President, Drive Products, ABB India.
ABB collaborated with its channel partner, Teknocrat’s Control Systems, and provided remote commissioning support for the drive.
From parched hopes to flowing taps, this village’s story is a powerful reminder of how technology, powered by the sun and driven by purpose, can transform lives in even the remotest corners of the country.
