"Solar pumping" now describes three different architectures, and choosing between them is the first decision in any project. The pump is nearly the same in all three; what changes is where the electrons come from and what happens when they stop.
Pure off-grid
Solar array, solar inverter, pump, storage tank. No grid, no generator, no batteries. Water pumped in daylight becomes pressure at night through the elevated tank. The simplest, most robust architecture there is, and the right answer wherever the grid does not reach or the storage can cover the duty.
Hybrid
The same system plus a fallback source: grid input or a genset feeding the inverter when the array cannot. Water security becomes weather-independent while the fuel bill stays near zero. The right answer for critical supply, livestock, clinics, and anywhere "wait for sun" is not an acceptable answer.
Grid-tied with solar assist
Grid supply with solar carrying the daylight hours, sometimes with export. The right answer where the grid is reliable and the economics are about shaving the bill rather than surviving an outage.
The deciding questions
- How reliable is the grid at your site, really, across the year?
- Can storage bridge your worst acceptable gap?
- What does one day without water actually cost you?
Answer those honestly and the architecture usually selects itself.