Solar water pumping in Nepal

1. Solar water pumping in Nepal Fintan McLoughlin Dublin Energy Lab

2. Overview scholarship programme DIT Foundation Awarded 3 month scholarship Renewable World Based in Kathmandu, Nepal RE Projects Solar, Wind, Biogas, Hydro

3. Three main challenges… Poverty 60% households live on < $2 a day Environment Only adequate rainfall for 3 months a year Infrastructure Only 40% have access to electricity

4. So why solar pumping ??? Methods Manual, treadle, gravity fed, electricity, liquid fuels, renewable Costs Upfront capital, operating Other Labour intensive, site specific, reliable supply to electricity Factors

5. Solar water pumping

6. and how does it work? Solar PV & control drive Converts DC to AC electricity to pump Autonomous system Controlled via radiation sensor Variable frequency Drive maintains continuous operation in low solar radiation conditions

7. Solar pumping locations

8. Predicted water demand No. of households Each household allocated 45 litres/person per day Community size Each village anticipated to grow annually 1.73% over 20 year period Other Additional allocation of water made if school nearby, increased poverty or extreme local environment

9. Estimated water demand Instantaneous measurement Pumped water flow rate measured three times under similar conditions and average taken (bucket and stick approach) Parameters recorded Solar irradiance (Watt/m2), temperature, VOC, ISC, etc Estimated operation System assumed to operate 6.5 hours per day and comparison made between locations (based on lowest solar irradiance region)

10. Performance by location… * *based on Sunco Systems (SENEPAL) software

11. Conclusions Alternative method Solar pumping provides good alternative method for water collection in remote environments Poverty reduction Supplements income, education participation, improved livelihoods Capital costs Upfront capital costs are still high but decreasing

12. Questions ? Email: fintan.mcloughlin@dit.ie

13. Costs