Advances in Solar Powered Water Pumping: Providing for Energy Resiliency and Social Equity

Abstract

Solar water pumping (SWP) is a mature and reliable solution for irrigation, livestock, and community water supply for human consumption and hygiene. Low cost of photovoltaic (PV) modules, combined with advances in pump, motor and control and communication technologies, are transforming the way we pump water globally. Traditionally, solar pumps have served off-grid locations by simply filling a storage tank, but applications are expanding to include integration and power-sharing with battery-based and grid-tied systems.

Access to affordable water is often a matter of social equity, where over a billion low and middle income (LMI) people around the world do not have access to a clean and safe water supply. SWPs are cost competitive as compared to diesel pumps or electric pumps powered by the grid. Water supply is a great consumer of energy worldwide. SWPs are an alternative to grid expansion, diesel generators, traditional windmills and water hauling. This paper introduces SWP for a range of applications. Economic and social equity benefits are presented, using examples from around the globe.

This paper includes highlights from the authors’ upcoming The Solar Water Pumping Handbook (to be published by CRC Press by 2023), which combines their decades of worldwide experience with recent research, as well as worldwide case studies. This paper discusses new SWP technology, sizing and system configurations, remote connectivity, economics, financing models.