Technology of solar irrigation

The solar panels provide 8.4 KWp of electricity. The panels utilize 8 hours of daily sunshine they receive with sun tracker to provide uninterrupted water supply. The sun-tracker enables maximum utilization of the sunlight the panels receive. This multi-crop farming is significantly improving the farmers livelihoods by ensuring economic benefits. With the help of this system, the farmers now able to grow rice, robi crops and vegetables. The initial investment barrier was addressed by introducing micro credit based financing with collaboration of local NGO and technology provider.

Technical Benefits

Green solution: Solar PV is a zero emission technology completely environment friendly causing no harm to the environment Noise free: SPV pump operates very quietly causing no noise pollution like diesel pumps OPEX reduction: Compared to diesel or electricity driven irrigation systems, SPV pump has minimum operational expenditure requirement as they dont require any fuel for operation Robust application: SPV pumps are designed to serve a lifetime (25 years) and so they are extremely robust Reliable: SPV irrigation schemes are very reliable compared to the conventional technologies Less service requirements: Compared to diesel or electric pumps, SPV pumps require almost no servicing. Maintenance free: SPV irrigation schemes are completely maintenance free technology compared to frequent maintenance needs of fossil fuel based irrigation schemes.

Economical viewpoint Farmers will no more need to wait for power or diesel for running their irrigation pumps as Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy Ltd (RRE) has introduced solar-powered irrigation system. The system will also help save 760 mw power and 800 million litre diesel every year if the conventional power and diesel run irrigation pumps are converted to solar power, says a press release. Rahimafrooz has introduced the system through converting a 10HP diesel run irrigation pump to solar power, which is owned by farmer Shaheen Ahmed of Kaishar Char under Savar in Dhaka.

Niaz Rahim, chairman of Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy Ltd, and Shaikh Siraj, media personality and presenter of Channel Is popular Hridoye Mati O Manush programme, formally launched the pump, which will supply water for irrigation of 20 acres of BORO rice field. Dr Nazmul Hossain, chairman of Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC), witnessed the launch of the scheme, also senior advisor of German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) Khurshid-ul-Islam and program coordinator of (GTZ) Erich Otto Gomm were present there. Its the largest installation of its kind in Bangladesh from Rahimafrooz. It is a lifetime project with one single major investment as solar panels, the major part of the system is warranted for 20 years. Rahimafrooz launched solar PV project back in 1985 in Bangladesh. Due to technological advancement, solar market has grown fast and efficiently for the last few years. Around 500,000 households are already enjoying the comfort solar home systems designed by Rahimafrooz, among which, 70,000 are actually supplied and monitored by the company. Besides, another 100kwp medium and large scale solar installations are also supplied by Rahimafrooz. The company introduced solar water pump in 2004, pioneering the service in Bangladesh. Since then hundreds of beneficiaries are enjoying solar-based water pumping service for drinking and irrigation water. As continuation of ongoing services to the nation, Rahimafrooz installed and commissioned this 11.9kwp solar-powered irrigation scheme. Socio-economic impact: Borguna solar irrigation project which was handled by Rahimafrooz, 22 beneficiary farmers with 110 family members getting significant direct benefits from the scheme. It arranged extra annual income of BDT BDT 58,437/- per family and hence it played a major role in community poverty alleviation. The project is also backed up by supply of improved seed and fertilizers and scientific cropping technologies that has not only enhanced collaborative yield, but also increased technology awareness in the general mass in the vicinity. Others also got encouraged from the project implementing improved farming technologies. Community children have started schooling and also the women have started small cottage business from the enhanced family income. Prospective national perspective:

Number of diesel run irrigation pumps in Bangladesh: 11.5 Lakh

People involved with these pumps: 2.2 Core (Approax) Scope of direct employment generation from management and security of solar pumps: 23 Lakh Scope of enhancement of income generating hour (considering 2 crop generating areas to transform to 3 crops): 46,200 Million Man Hours!

Improving hazard resistance potential Emission reduction: Solar PV technology is a clean green solution and allows no environmental hazard. Replacing diesel engines with solar PV pumping technology conserves the environmental chastity by reducing the scope of green house gas (GHG) emission that would have been occurred from the same amount of energy producing from fossil fuel burning. 100% replacement of the diesel pumps can save 28 Million Ton CO2 emission per year. Fuel safety: Diesel run irrigation solution requires frequent carriage of fossil fuels which is a potentially dangerous scope of fire hazards. Solar PV technology does not require any fuel carriage or storage. Soil quality improvement: Fossil fuel based irrigation system involved oil spillage that deteriorates soil quality and hampers productivity. SPV pump gets rid of oil spillage scopes. Noise pollution reduction: Solar PV is a noise free quiet technology that let the user get rid of noise pollution too.