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An evaluation of the use of renewable energy to pump water in Sacala las Lomas, Guatemala

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Abstract

An evaluation has been conducted to establish if using renewable energy is technically and economically feasible to pump water in Sacala las Lomas, Guatemala. A deep groundwater well has been proposed and a multi-stage pump system is being considered to distribute groundwater to users’ homes. A weather station was erected in Sacala to collect site-specific data. Wind velocity, wind direction, solar insolation, temperature, precipitation, and barometric pressure data were collected over a 1-year study period. The analysis of the data indicated that the potential power generated by a photovoltaic array or wind turbine would be insufficient to economically pump water to the village under current conditions. Although there may be reasons other than economics that make the potential renewable energy applications attractive, the space and maintenance required to install and operate a sufficient off-grid system outweigh the benefits. A grid-intertie system would allow any number of solar panels to be used in the system while still providing the electricity demand using grid-power.

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Acknowledgments

Travel to Guatemala was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation award number 0623091. Additional support was provided by the Sisters of Saint Joseph, the community of Sacala las Lomas and Missouri University of Science and Technology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geological Engineering, Missouri S&T, 125 McNutt Hall, Rolla, MO, 65409, USA

    Will Granich & Andrew Curtis Elmore

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  1. Will Granich
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  2. Andrew Curtis Elmore
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Correspondence to Will Granich.

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Granich, W., Elmore, A.C. An evaluation of the use of renewable energy to pump water in Sacala las Lomas, Guatemala. Environ Earth Sci 61, 837–846 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-009-0395-8

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