Solar irrigation is being scaled across the Global South for its potential to reduce GHG emissions associated with groundwater irrigation, strengthen climate resilience, and enhance energy security. Beyond its climate benefits, solar-powered irrigation pumps (SIPs) offer multiple co-benefits—improving farm profitability, boosting food security, and reducing agricultural subsidy burdens. Given significant investments are needed to set up solar irrigation, there is a need for developing context and location specific solar irrigation strategy.

The SolaReady platform is a spatial decision support tool that supports the deployment of appropriate implementation solar models aligned with local conditions and priorities. By integrating water, energy, climatic, agricultural, and socio-economic indicators, the tool identifies where solar irrigation can deliver the greatest benefits across the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus—enhancing adaptation, contributing to mitigation, and promoting sustainable groundwater development.

This decision-support tool can support policymakers, investors, and development partners design context-specific, targeted SIP models and roadmaps —maximizing benefits (expanding irrigation, improving crop yields, reducing emissions) while minimizing risks (e.g., models with incentives to reduce groundwater over abstraction). Through integrated WEF approach, the tool recommends evidence-based and context specific solar irrigation models for upscaling solar energy transitions that are climate-responsive, economically viable, and environmentally sustainable.