ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the technical, and especially the economic, feasibility of implementing solar-powered photovoltaic (PV) water pumping in agriculture and interprets this as far as possible, given the limited data currently available from the industry. Electricity shortages and high diesel costs affect the pumping available for community water supplies and irrigation; therefore, using solar energy for water pumping is a promising alternative to conventional electricity- and diesel-based pumping systems. Studies suggest that the payback period of an efficient water supply system based on PV power is about few years. Solar PV pumping techniques have been developed recently as a result of a reduction in the price of PV panels as well as an increase in efficiency. Water pumping, from groundwater and surface water bodies, is a principal energy consumer – and therefore a significant cost factor – in agriculture. The cost of any irrigation has three elements: water, energy and human resource.
