Photovoltaic (PV) Pumping Systems for Irrigation

Overview

Due to the falling costs of solar modules, photovoltaic pumps (PVP) are an increasingly competitive solution for irrigated agricultural production as well as other uses.

SWOT Analyses of Solar Powered Pumps

see article "Solar Powered Water Pumps"

Economics of PVP Systems

Economics of PV pumping systems for irrigation is dependent on numerous factors (see Article "PV Pumping").

In general, PV pumps for irrigation can only be operated cost-efficiently under the following conditions:

• In order to reduce the energy requirements of PVP irrigation systems water-conserving and energy-saving micro-irrigation techniques have to be applied.
• The plot size for PVP irrigation should be below 4 hectares.
• High rates of system utilisation are necessary to achieve economic viability of PVP irrigation systems.
• Therefore PVP systems are limited to irrigate permanent crops and continuous crop rotation in arid climates.
• High value-added cash crops like fruits, vegetables and spices should be given preference to recoup the high initial investment.
• Low-interest loans should be available for the same reason.
• PVP irrigation systems require a careful planning of the crop schedule and are more demanding of user skills.

Case Study "Potential for Solar PV Water Pumping for Irrigation in Bihar, India"

This report assesses the technical maturity and the market potential for solar powered water pumping for irrigation - in Bihar, India. It provides an overview of the current usage of solar water pumps for irrigation, along with opportunities and challenges for their usage.

India uses 12 million gridbased (electric) and 9 million diesel irrigation pump sets (C-STEP 2010). However, due to high operational cost of diesel pump farmers are forced to practice deficit irrigation of crops,resulting in considerable reductions in their yield and income.

Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) sets represent an environment-friendly, low-maintenance and costeffective alternative to irrigation pump sets which run on grid electricity or diesel. It is etimated that India's potential for Solar PV water pumping for irrigation to is 9 to 70 million solar PV pump sets, i.e. at least 255 billion ltr/year of diesel savings (HWWI 2005). Still, solar PV water pumping systems remain a rather unknown technical option, especially in the agricultural sector.

In Bihar, solar PV water pumping for irrigation is a suitable option. Bihar has ample availability of surface and ground water, suitable agricultural practices, and sufficient solar radiation conducive for solar PV water pumping. The study points out key
challenges and potential solutions for tapping the solar water pumping potential in Bihar - structured into market related, regulatory, and technology related issues.

The study concludes that policy makers, the private sector and other facilitating stakeholders and financial institutes need to come together and address the analysed barriers to large-scale deployment of the solar PV water pumping systems in Bihar.

Potential for Solar PV Water Pumping for Irrigation in Bihar

References

C-STEP, (2010). “Harnessing Solar Energy: Options for India” Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (C-STEP).

HWWI, (2005). “CDM potentials for SPV pumps in India” Hamburgisches Welt Wirtschafts Institut (HWWI), Research Paper No 4.

Further Information

• Fact sheet on the advantages and disadvantages of solar photovoltaic water pumping, including real world application.
• Design of Photovoltaic Pumping
• Climate Tech Wiki: Solar Water Pumps