Solar powered irrigation pumps

This solution was shared by PRE-LAUNCH RESEARCH TEAM , 14 May 2021

Print date: 13 April 2024 03:50

Description of the innovative solution

Solar energy Water availability Renewable energy Irrigation Agricultural development

Modern water pumps and agricultural irrigation systems utilize relatively high amounts of either gas or electrical energy. Solar Powered Irrigation Pumps offer an alternative that relies on a cleaner energy source and are increasingly found in rural, peri-urban, and urban areas, proving useful in a wide range of applications from residential, to commercial agricultural - depending on the size of the unit and amount of solar panels. This solution functions by attaching a solar panel, or a photovoltaic array, to a water pump, providing a renewable source of solar energy to power the pump, eliminating or greatly reducing the need for fuel-burning mechanisms by replacing them with a renewable solar source. There are different types of solar pumps including rotating and positive displacement pumps which can be both submersible or surface based. In the simpler design models, pumps powered by the sun provide crops with water when it is sunny - often making it critical to attach/include a timer mechanism to control flow and use water resources efficiently. Although solar panels are commonly used today to power lights and heaters, using solar energy as a mechanism to power irrigation pumps is highly sustainable as it is the most abundant energy source on Earth today.

Primary users

Subsistence farmers
Small & medium commercial farmers
Large & industrial farmers
Livestock farmers
Hobby home gardeners
Urban farmers
Greenhouse users
Peri-urban communities
Urban communities
Coastal Communities

Dietary impact

Solar powered irrigation pumps could have a positive impact on improving dietary health by increasing the long term cost effectiveness of irrigation inputs and, ultimately supporting crop health and success and with a high potential to increase yield compared to non-irrigated systems. This can lead to increasing supplies of fresh vegetables both in production communities as well as urban communities/”purchasing” communities, Therefore, this solution has the ability to progress agricultural productivity in remote areas which will inevitably lead to improved dietary health. More specifically, this solution has the ability to increase nutrition and food security in areas which could be food insecure by increasing net production of crops significantly.

Planetary impact

Solar powered irrigation pumps can help to shift reliance away from fossil fuel dependent irrigation systems and towards the use of cleaner renewable energy sources. Solar energy, the most abundant energy source on earth, is GHG emission-free and presents a very cost-effective and accessible resource to a wide range of users in both urban and rural settings. When paired with timer mechanisms, water resources can be used more efficiently for both crop production and local water resource management, preventing or reducing agricultural water use waste.

Equity impact

This solution has a high potential for positive impact on equity because, although upfront cost may appear to be higher than fossil fuel powered irrigation systems, ultimately this is a highly cost-effective method to irrigate crops and reduce overall production costs. Since solar power is so abundant and renewable, once the initial cost are recovered, the supply of energy is essentially unlimited, providing a solution for the long-term. Finally, this solution is highly equitable because solar powered irrigation pumps are not as susceptible as fossil fuels to global price fluctuations and with a wide range of off the shelf as well as customizable options, can be accessible and available at multiple price points around the world.

Main concerns

The main concern for this solution is the initial cost paid upfront. Although solar powered irrigation pumps prove to be highly economical in the long term, the price that must be paid upfront can be high, especially dependent on size and scale needed for use. It can be far cheaper to find fossil fuel powered pumps, which even though are more expensive long term, are a smaller upfront investment. Secondly, solar power is highly weather dependent and relies on sunny weather. It is true that solar energy is still collected during cloudy days, yet the efficiency drops significantly. Thus, assessments of efficiency and value-add must be weighed when determining which type of systems to incorporate into a given production context and decision support capacity to this end must be made more readily available to producers, especially in limited resource settings where initial cost of investment is significant.

Supply chain segment

Agricultural inputs and primary production practices

Maturity level

Moving to scale

Criteria

Food availability Climate mitigation Water use

SDG target

SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

Context

Urban Peri-urban Rural

Examples and additional resources

Real-world examples

See this solution in action in different contexts and settings around the world

LORENTZ Solar Water Pumps

Business information

Dedicated to solar water pumping, delivers water to people, livestock and crops using the power of the sun.

Germany India China United States

lorentz.de

Shared by IFSS Portal Research Team

Additional resources

Learn more about this solution through studies, articles, business cases, and other information

Solar Driven Irrigation Systems for Remote Rural Farms

Scientific paper

This paper investigates solar powered irrigation technologies (PV and solar thermal technologies) that can be utilised by independent farmers in small-scale remote rural farms in Sub-Saharan Africa.

sciencedirect.com/scien...357570