Solar energy a good cycle of water-energy-climate
Apr 21, 2020
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is promoting the Solar Irrigation to Improve Agricultural Resilience (SoLAR) initiative, with a view to expanding the use of solar irrigation systems to Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. Supporters of solar irrigation pumps believe that they can have a strong positive impact on groundwater.
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) has launched the Solar Irrigation Enhancement of Agricultural Resilience (SoLAR) project as the second phase of the "Solar Pump Irrigation" initiative launched in early 2016. This new project aims to replace diesel-powered irrigation pumps in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan with the help of solar irrigation systems that focus on groundwater.
Aditi Mukherji, senior social scientist at IWMI, told PV: "This project is not about installing solar pumps. We are working with government agencies in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. These agencies will provide financial support and install solar irrigation. The mission of the pump. "
Mukherji disclosed that these pumps will be owned by private companies, and they obtain loans from government agencies to provide irrigation services to farmers who purchase water at a predetermined price.
In Bangladesh, the technical specifications of these pumps range from 10 to 40 horsepower submersible pumps (with a photovoltaic capacity of 25 to 65 kilowatts) to underground pipelines that can irrigate up to 50 hectares of land. The specifications of the pumps used in Nepal are much smaller, ranging from 3 to 5 horsepower, with a capacity of 5 kW to 7.5 kW, and no underground pipes. India includes all major models from small sub-high pressure pumps to large pumps, but not as large as the pumps in Bangladesh.
"Then, given that these countries already have a considerable number of solar irrigation pumps, our project is not to install more pumps, but to study their impact on agriculture and farmers' livelihoods," Mukherji explained.
The project pays particular attention to three related secondary issues-when farmers switch from diesel / electric pumps to solar pumps, how will the sustainability of groundwater resources change? What is the fairness impact of this on small-scale and vulnerable farmers including female farmers? Given that the solar pump irrigation system is not always running all year round, how will the excess power be used? In Bangladesh, these systems work approximately 120 days per year. Mukherji added: "We will connect these SIPs to the national grid in pilot interventions."
She proposed, "If you combine SoLAR with the right policies, institutional support and financial guidance, it will turn the vicious cycle of water-energy-climate into a virtuous cycle."
The project was funded by the Swiss Development Cooperation Agency (SDC). "At present, only 10% of the solar water pumps are owned by resource-poor farmers, and the proportion of female farmers is less than 5%," Mukherji said. "When we complete this project four years later, and supplemented by Change, we hope that in these four countries, at least 30% of the solar water pumps will be owned by farmers belonging to poor or vulnerable groups, and the proportion of female farmers will also be increased to 10%. "
