Energy Consumption Optimization in Irrigation Networks Supplied by a Standalone Direct Pumping Photovoltaic System

Miguel Ángel Pardo Picazo, Juan Manzano Juárez and Diego García-Márquez
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Miguel Ángel Pardo Picazo: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Alicante, 03080 Alicante, Spain
Juan Manzano Juárez: Department of Hydraulic Engineering and Environment, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Diego García-Márquez: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Alicante, 03080 Alicante, Spain

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 11, 1-17

Abstract: Due to the fact that irrigation networks are water and energy hungry and that both resources are scarce, many strategies have been developed to reduce this consumption. Solar energy sources have emerged as a green alternative with lower energy costs and, consequently, lower environmental impacts. In this work, a new methodology is proposed to select a scheduled program for irrigation which minimizes the number of photovoltaic solar panels to be installed and which better fits energy consumption (calculated for discrete potential combinations, assisted by programming software) to available energy obtained by panels without any power conditioning unit. Thus, the irrigation hours available to satisfy the water demands are limited by sunlight, the schedule type of irrigation has to be rigid (rotation predetermined), and the pressure at any node has to be above the minimum pressure required by standards. A case study was undertaken and, after running the software 10 5 times, the best result was an irrigation schedule which satisfied all the requirements, involving the installation of 651 solar panels and energy consumption of 428.74 kWh per day, to deliver water to orchards of different varieties of citrus fruit spread over 167.7 ha.

Keywords: energy efficiency; photovoltaic system; energy audit; rigid scheduled irrigation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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