Several agricultural farms in Nigeria are found in off-grid locations where there is the lack of water supply despite the abundant groundwater resources possessed by the country. Since water is one of the key resources for agricultural production, majority of the farms only resort to the use of fossil fuel-powered generators to pump water for their operations in Nigeria. However, concerns about the frequent increase in fuel cost, the maintenance, and the environmental issues associated with running fossil-fuel generators have driven the need for a clean and sustainable energy source. The photovoltaic (PV) pumping system is becoming more popular as an alternative energy source of water pumping for irrigation farming. This study presents the effects of total system head and solar radiation on the techno-economic design of PV-pumping system for groundwater irrigation of crop production in Nigeria. It also calculates the quantity of emissions avoided by the PV. The technical design is based on standard methodology to determine the PV capacity that can operate the pump to satisfy the daily water requirements for the crops, while the economic aspect involves the assessment of the life cycle cost and the cost of water per m3. The result reveals that the pump power ranges from 0.158 kW to 0.293 kW and the PV power ranges from 1.90 kW to 3.52 kW for a system head of 10 m and solar irradiation of 5.25 kWh/m2/day, respectively, while the unit cost of water ranges from $0.05/m3 to $0.054/m3, and the life cycle cost ranges from $7004 to $12331. This provides insights into the effects of varying the system head and the solar radiation, demonstrating that the PV-pumping system underperforms at higher system heads, but performs effectively at higher solar radiation. This is due to the decrease in the discharge rate and an increase in power output, respectively. The study will be useful for planning PV-based water pumping system for agricultural purposes. Adopting this method of supplying crop water requirements will go a long way to guarantee food security in Nigeria and other developing countries with similar climate and economic situations. Such a method is expected to lead to zero hunger in the country in the long-run.
A lot of economic analyses have been conducted in the last ten years to establish the most cost-effective solution for irrigation and evaluation of the project profitability. The benefits generated by the PVWP providing water by a submersible pump located inside a deep well have been highlighted for Divjaka region. The solar potential in the site is quite enough to be used to pump water from the deep well into the tank positioned at an effective altitude which can provide the water quantity and pressure by gravity. The study shows that installing a PVWP system represents the best technical and economic solution to drive a water pump that provides water for sprinkler irrigation. The economic benefits have been also addressed, evaluating the energy production and distribution throughout the year and the specific cost per m3 of water supplied (€/m3). Renewables are the key to enhance food and water security, drive agri-food productivity, leading to socioeconomic benefits in recovering from post-Covid-19. By combining our knowledge, data collected, surveys together can contribute to economic growth of our community-ensuring access to clean and affordable energy and raising the standard of living of rural and most vulnerable communities. In the area there are used two types of water pumping for irrigation purposes: Diesel driven water pumps and electricity powered water pumps. Both systems are very costly due to the high fuel cost and on the other hand self-investment to bring electricity from the national distribution lines are needed. The study shows very good results compared to the existing water pump systems (totally based on fossil or electricity from the grid) applied for irrigation purposes in Albania. Further investment in RES is essential for agri-food systems transformation and development, climate resilience and net-zero strategies by 2030 in Albanian context, as the majority of the rural population lies their economy on agriculture. The use of this kind of system could have an important contribution in the diversification of energy sources, mitigation of GHG, social and economic development of our country.
The purpose of this study was to describe the development of a solar-powered submersible pump system without the use of batteries in agriculture. The submersible pump system used a solar drive to run it. The implementation uses a combination of solar trackers, water storage tanks, power converters, and stabilizers. The results of the study explained that solar trackers increased the efficiency of solar units that track the sun throughout the day and convert solar energy into DC electrical power.
This paper presents solar-powered irrigation systems (SPIS) as a clean energy option for agriculture and rural electrification.
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This publication gives an introduction to solar-powered livestock-watering systems, including discussions of cost, components, and terminology, as well as some suggestions for designing and installing these systems.
Solar-based solutions can provide reliable, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable energy for decentralized irrigation services. This paper analyzes the key drivers behind the adoption of solar pumping technology and brings to the forefront the cross-sector aspects that should be considered in program design and implementation.
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A common problem in Namibia, Africa, related to farming is inconsistent irrigation water supply. The objective of this paper is to explore solar powered irrigation systems as a possible solution to provide sustainable irrigation water supply.
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This paper provides inSolar photovoltaic energy is positioned to play a major role in the electricity generation mix of Mediterranean countries. This paper analyzes the profitability of a hypothetical agro-photovoltaics (APV) system deployed on irrigated arable lands of southwestern Spain.
This paper provides insight on the trade-offs of co-locating agriculture and solar photovoltaic infrastructure by analyzing microclimatic conditions, PV panel temperature, soil moisture and irrigation water use, plant ecophysiological function and plant biomass production within this ‘agrivoltaics’ ecosystem and in traditional PV installations and agricultural settings.
