The agricultural sector production in developing countries is highly dependent on rains, being affected by scarcityperiods and important water resource reductions in summers. It is very common in countries of the Mediterranean basin that need to pump water for the irrigation of crops, mainly due to the problems of drought and shortage of surface water for irrigation. The water pumping from the subsoil can be then assumed as annual, seasonal or direct, identifying different types of energy sources such as fossil fuels —mainly diesel equipment—, direct supply from grid or PV power plants— isolated or connected to the grid through net-balance system—,which are required to be applied by the agricultural sector. It can be affirmed that the majority of the commercially available water pumps run with electricity generated by Diesel engines and renewables, more specifically photovoltaic (PV) solar technologies, which have become a competitive alternative to pump water with real advantages over traditional fuel-driven generators. However, PV Water Pumping (PVWP) solutions have been marginally implemented; being considered as an electric energy source mainly in remote locations or through hybrid solutions. This paper describes a multidimensional methodology assessment of the different types of groundwater pumping with their potential combinations of aggregated agricultural areas, aquifer depth, and irrigation crop requirements, to determine the optimum or suitable size for future implementation of the most advantageous system, according to the aquifer depth and the water endowment defined. For that, this paper uses the SIMUS method for the assessment of the different types of groundwater pumping, with their potential combinations, by considering specific water aspects of the Spanish studied area (Castilla La Mancha, Spain).
During the past decade, most governments have been promoting energy efficiency programs and the integration of renewable energy sources into the majority of energy uses. Among the diferent sectors, the agricultural sector is becoming a more active participant to reduce fossil fuel dependence and improve environmental sustainability. Indeed, agriculture usually combines both a high energy demand and water problems associated with over-exploited aquifers, providing great potential and remarkable opportunities to change the energy mix and maximize the use and integration of natural resources in a rational way. Considering this framework, the present paper describes and compares the solar resource integration and its effects on agricultural pumping purposes in two Mediterranean countries, Spain and Morocco, with significant differences in terms of energy mix, climatic conditions and energy policies. As a novel contribution in this paper, we propose the use of GIS to analyze the spatial and temporal variability of the solar resource through real data of both locations, as well as to study groundwater resources. With this aim, two technical proposals for irrigation purposes are compared in terms of environmental benefits, CO2 emissions and agriculture energy model changes: diesel equipment and photovoltaic system. Results based on solar radiation resource, pumping requirements and aquifer depth are included in the paper.
Nowadays, the agriculture sector presents relevant opportunities to integrate renewable energy sources as an alternative solution to mitigate fossil-fuel dependence and decrease emissions. Moreover, this sector demands a detailed review of energy uses and other factors that are addressed as priority issues in most developed countries. In this framework, groundwater pumping energy requirements for agriculture irrigation emerge as a relevant topic to be improved in terms of power demand. Actually, this demand is currently supplied by diesel equipment solutions, with relevant drawbacks such as: (i) a large energy dependence on fossil fuels for the agricultural sector and (ii) a lack of participation in reducingCO 2 emissions.This paper proposes a multidimensional characterization to evaluate photovoltaic (PV) solar energy integration intogroundwater pumping requirements. Alternative solutions are compared under economic, energy and environmentalaspects; thus providing an extensive scenario where the considerable influence of multiple factors such as water needs, irrigation area or aquifer depth are explicitly considered. Extensive results based on a real Spanish aquifer and discussion about the solutions are also included in the paper.
Herein, optimal groundwater pumping solutions based on a variety of energy resources and water storage options areestimated and classified. Each energy source and water storage option is first characterized considering energy, economic, and environmental criteria. A multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) process based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) is subsequently applied to identify and classify the optimal groundwater pumping solutions under such a multidimensional framework. An aquifer located in the southeast of Spain is analyzed in a case study to assess the proposed optimal MCDM-based approach. Conventional diesel-based equipment, solar PV power plants, and direct grid connection, as well as three water storage systems—direct pumping, seasonal storage, and annual storage—are identified as potential energy sources and water storage options, respectively. Characterization and visualization of these energy and water storage systems, as well as prioritized option results, are also discussed herein.
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