A solar-powered pump is a pump running on electricity generated by photovoltaic panels or the thermal energy available from collected sunlight as opposed to grid electricity or diesel run water pumps. The operation of solar powered pumps is more economical mainly due to the lower operation and maintenance costs and has less environmental impact than pumps powered by an internal combustion engine(ICE).

Solar pumps are usefyl where grid electricity is unavailable and alternative sources (in particular winds) do not provide sufficient energy.A typical solar water pumping system is known by the sum total of solar array size that is required to run the attached pump.

A 1000 Wp solar water pump is capable of drawing and pumping approximately 40,000 litres of water per day from a source that is up to 10 meters deep. This is sufficient to irrigate about 2 acres of land with regular crops. A 1000 Wp solar water pump helps save up to Rs 45,000 when compared to equivalent use of a diesel-operated pump over a year.