Sustainable Solar Water Pumping for Irrigation in Bangladesh
Abstract
Solar water pumps (SWPs) are a mature, reliable, and economically attractive climate smart sustainable agricultural technology solution for responsible crop irrigation. The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) is implementing a large SWP project through Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) named “Photovoltaic Pumping for Agricultural Irrigation (SPPAI)” project which is a subproject of Power System Efficiency Improvement Project of Asian Development Bank (ADB). The project aims to install 2,000 solar pumping systems in Bangladesh for irrigation with the objective to reduce the pollutants emitted by diesel driven pumps, reduction of grid power surges during irrigation season and diffusion of solar pumping systems throughout the country. Key challenges for SWP dissemination include market access, financing, and irrigation subsidies. This paper describes SWP technologies, lessons learned in Bangladesh, implementation challenges, project design, and economics, as well as key takeaways in providing reliable SWP solutions for a more sustainable agricultural sector in the age of climate change.
Keywords
Photovoltaics, Solar water pumping, Irrigation, Sustainable agriculture, Bangladesh.