Integration of photovoltaics in a sustainable irrigation system for agricultural purposes

摘要

The European Union's energy policy focuses on a continuous increase of the renewable sources quota. By the year 2050, the renewable integration level is expected to reach 60-70 %. In order to reach this level, substantial investments are needed as the current tendency is to shift from large centralized power plants to distributed on-site renewable energy sources. By looking at the country of Romania, (especially the South-East part) it can be seen that it presents a huge energy potential (solar and wind power), wide land spreads used of agricultural purposes and a vast water catchment areas. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development states that less than 3% of the total agricultural surface is efficiently irrigated. Due to the severe droughts, the agricultural productivity of this region has varied between 35-60 % in the past decade. The Romanian Energy Strategy (for 2016-2035) highlights the fact that in the energy mix, renewables will occupy a solid percentage, as the numbers of `prosumers' is forecast to increase substantially. This paper aims to analyze an agricultural setup, in which renewable energy sources are integrated together with an efficient irrigation system, in order to increase the global productivity of crops. The goal is to evaluate both, the technical and economic feasibility of implementing the proposed system.