TECH CORNER ECONOMY
Solar pumping puts the sun to work A
mid the dual crises of climate change and population growth, the need for sustainable agriculture and water management has
never been more critical. Essential to this effort is not only the clean energy harnessed from the sun to nourish crops and livestock, but also innovation in water conservation and smart usage.
Solar pumping is an ideal irrigation solution for remote regions.
Water is a precious resource, and its correct treatment, allocation and usage are essential in supporting sustainable farming practices. To move water, a pump system is required. In fact, pumping systems are so vital that all the pump systems in the world account for an estimated 20% of the world’s energy consumption, according to the Hydraulic Institute. To be sustainable, pumping must be done in a way that maximizes productivity and minimizes energy usage, particularly in remote areas.
Here, solar drives come into play, combining solar panel technology with pumps to create autonomous systems that smartly pump, store and distribute water.
This not only fosters effective crop irrigation but also supports the broader vision of food security intertwined with environmental protection. It ensures that every drop of water and ray of sunshine contributes to a more resilient and food-secure future. Alongside, the role of drives in water treatment processes further establishes their value in sustainable agriculture.
This demand for off-grid water movement has given rise to solar pumping, where a pump is powered completely by photovoltaic power. The benefits of solar-powered pumps are that they reduce energy costs, cut emissions and can operate without a grid connection. Modern technology is improving efficiency even further in solar pumping, making it a system that’s become extremely viable for irrigation in remote areas as an alternative to pumps powered by diesel generators.
As a result, it’s a solution that’s gradually gaining in popularity all across the globe, but especially in regions that contain areas of extreme aridity. It’s also a growing market in the Middle East where, in some cases, it can be cheaper to get 1 kilowatt hour of energy from solar panels than from oil. There has also been significant growth in Europe, where getting a reliable grid connection is becoming more and more problematic.
There are certain obvious limitations to solar pumping, such as cloudy days and hours of darkness. Solar pumping works best when operators decouple the processes of storing up and using water. This involves a mindset shift from traditional pumping.
So, rather than pumping water only when it is needed, use daylight hours to move as much water as possible to where it can be most easily and efficiently stored. Essentially, this means using excess energy to fill a tank or reserve, then using it when it is needed. Pumping excess water to a higher elevation means that gravity then provides power to distribute the water later.
28 Irrigation TODAY | Summer 2024
Furthermore, operators should consider which direction to install panels, depending on which hemisphere they’re located in. They should be south-facing if located in the northern hemisphere and north-facing if located in the southern hemisphere. This maximizes the energy production over the course of summer and winter.
irrigationtoday.org
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