Toolbox on SPIS

Introduction

The Toolbox on Solar Powered Irrigation Systems (SPIS) is designed to enable advisors, service providers and practitioners in the field of solar irrigation to provide broad hands-on guidance to end-users, policy-makers and financiers. Risks related to system efficiency, financial viability and the unsustainable use of water resources can thus be minimized. The Toolbox comprises informative modules supplemented with user-friendly software tools (calculations sheets, checklists, guidelines). read more

Modules and tools touch upon:

• assessing the water requirements,
• comparing the financial viability,
• determining farm profitability and payback of investment in SPIS,
• sustainably design and maintain a SPIS,
• highlight critical workmanship quality aspects,
• and many more.

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NEWSLETTER

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ABBREVIATIONS

GLOSSARY

PASSWORD

Background & Acknowledgement

This manual was developed in an effort to contribute to the goal of the international initiative ‘Powering Agriculture – An Energy Grand Challenge for Development’. It supports the introduction of Solar-Powered Irrigation Systems (SPIS) as one technology option to sustain and increase agricultural production in developing countries. read more

The development of the manual was commissioned by the program ‘Powering Agriculture – Sustainable Energy for Food’ of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development).The manual was developed based on the “Stocktaking and Analysis Report on SPIS” prepared as a result of desk research and case studies in Chile, India, Morocco and Kenya. These were supplemented from exchanges and discussions with stakeholders from the public and private sector, and civil society organizations. The study was carried out in close co-operation with the GIZ sector program Poverty-oriented Basic Energy Services (HERA), which has more than three decades of experience in the field of energy access. The HERA-team provided a wealth of information and was instrumental in the organization and facilitation of the stakeholder workshop in March 2015 and a workshop at FAO in May 2015. The study benefitted from the contact management and facilitation of GIZ Country Offices in Chile, India, Kenya and Morocco. The study team could also largely benefit from support and fruitful discussions with key GIZ staff of the Program for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency in Chile, the Indo-German Energy Program in India, the Energizing Development Kenya Country Program in Kenya and the Program Promoting Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Efficiency for Sustainable Development in Morocco. During the case studies conducted in the four countries, the authors had the opportunity for exchanges and discussions with a large number of representatives of public services related to renewable energies and agriculture. Support to the research and information collection was largely extended by private sector suppliers and service providers in Germany and in the countries selected for case studies. Notably, the companies Lorentz GmbH and Grundfos have supported the study through their international networks.

Country-based assistance and information was also provided by iEnergia Group (Chile), Claro Energy Pvt. Ltd. (India), Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd., Tata Power Solar Systems Ltd. (India), Center for Alternative Technologies Ltd. (Kenya), Davies & Shirtliff Ltd. (Kenya), SunCulture Ltd. (Kenya) and AE Photonics Maroc S.a.r.l. (Morocco). The visits to solar-powered irrigation systems in these countries would not have been possible without the support and logistical assistance of these companies. The Delegations of the German Chamber of Commerce in Kenya and Morocco also provided valuable information and facilitated further contacts that were be followed up by the study team. Between May and July 2016, the manual and its tools have been tested in Ghana, Mali and India. We would like to thank the GIZ EnDeV (Ghana), PASSIP/SEWOH (Mali) and IGEN Access (India) programs for their support and initiative to pilot the manual. They enabled us to collect feedback on the manual and the tools and improve them. This second version of the manual and tools is the result of that. Our gratitude goes out to the participants of the workshops and field tests in Tamale, Bamako and Vaishali.

The authors of the study and the manual gratefully thank all stakeholders for their contributions, comments and support.

Hamburg & Niedernhausen, October 2016

Introduction

A solar array used to pump water from the well (source: Lorentz Chili)

Most water pumps utilized for irrigation purposes worldwide are powered by engines run on fossil fuels (diesel, petrol, gas) or on electricity supplied from the grid. Fossil energy sources are limited and emissions from their utilization have negative climate impacts. At the same time, the electricity supply in many developing countries is often insufficient and unreliable or wholly absent in rural areas. Moreover, prices of solar panels have reduced while the quality has improved. Today, solar pumps for irrigation have become an economical, technical and environmentally viable alternative to conventional pumping systems.

However, major hindrance for the uptake of the technology is still a lack of information on solar pumps for irrigation and its relatively high investment costs. The knowledge on the potentials, limitations and risks of Solar-Powered Irrigation Systems (SPIS) is incomplete among policy makers, producers and other stakeholders. For example, SPIS are seldom designed in a way that producer needs and site specific conditions (environmental, agronomic and technical aspects) are comprehensively addressed. Consequently, the potential of the technology is not optimized, or worse, has negative ecological and economic impacts.

This manual provides up-to-date information on the technology and methods of promotion, as well as how to finance SPIS. Furthermore it gives insight into how SPIS are designed, set up and maintained. It is accompanied by a set of tools, such as maintenance checklists, data collection guidelines and design calculations. It strives to help find the optimal design of a system, thereby avoiding risks related to system efficiency, financial viability and the unsustainable use of water resources. The manual and tools target stakeholders who advise or finance medium-sized agricultural enterprises. These are agricultural (irrigation) extension advisors and credit officers / risk managers in financing institutions. Furthermore the manual support the advisory function of SPIS suppliers, by providing them with a holistic set of knowledge through which they can guide their clients towards a financially and environmentally sound decision.

The manual follows the course of action involved when giving advice on SPIS for an agricultural enterprise. It consists of this introduction and seven further modules. The modular approach enables the user to pick out specific information relevant to his/her situation. Each module however relates to and supplements the other modules.

• GET INFORMED specifies the components and common configurations of a SPIS. Each component is described in detail.

• PROMOTE & INITIATE provides important information and tips for someone who wants to promote the SPIS technology in a particular area. It focuses on the analysis of opportunities and risks, the stakeholders involved, as well as promotion strategies and activities.
  

• SAFEGUARD WATER focuses on water governance issues and potential negative impacts of (ground-)water depletion through solar pumping.
  

• FINANCE provides information to financial service providers financing or planning to finance SPIS. The module targets stakeholders at management level who decide on credit policies and loan officers who assess single loan applications for financing SPIS.

• DESIGN helps to select the suitable system configuration for a specific situation. A substantial set of tools helps to assess site conditions, select and design the appropriate type of SPIS and conduct a simplified financial viability assessment and calculates the detailed financial viability of the producer. 
  

• SET UP provides information and tools to enable the installation of a SPIS. It focuses on the selection of installers, acceptance and system tests as well as documentation and hand over of the system.

• MAINTAIN elaborates on maintenance plans, the selection of service providers, regular routines and documentation and monitoring.

Module Structure

The modules are all structured uniformly. It starts with the module aim and orientation and a brief description of the relevant process steps. These are processes that are recommended to be considered in a particular order. They are numbered and summarized in a flow diagram at the beginning of each module for easy reference

Structure of Each Process Step

Each step in the process of each module is described on one or two pages. The process step is concluded with an overview of the most relevant aspects:

• Outcome / products
• Data requirements;
• People and stakeholders involved;
• Important issues to be considered.

At the end of each module links for further readings and multimedia files are provided. This last page is also used to describe what tools supplement to the module. The tools are available online and users can adapt them to their specific needs.

Content of Modules

I WANT TO	GIVE ADVISE ON HOW TO
GET INFORMED	PROMOTE + INITIATE	SAFEGUARD WATER	FINANCE	DESIGN	SET UP	MAINTAIN
PROCESS STEPS
The solar alternative Specifics of solar energy	1. Analyze opportunities and risks	1.Understanding groundwater	1. Credit policy : Analyze potential	1. Collect data on site	1. Select a suitable installer	1. Establish and refine maintenance plan
Irrigation principles SPIS	2. Analyze access to finance	2. Analyze water management and regulation	2. Credit Policy: Risk analysis	2. Analyze agricultural production options	2. Plan site preparation and installation	2. Select suitable service provider
1. Solar generator	3. Define target group and stakeholders	3. Analyze water extraction	3. Credit policy: Select/develop suitable financial instruments	3. Determine water requirements and availability	3. Install	3. Implement maintenance routines
2. Mounting structure	4. Define a promotion strategy	4. Explore cooperative water governance	4. Loan Assessment: Deter­mine fi­nancing volume and profita­bility	4. Select SPIS configuration	4. PVP ac­ceptance test	4. Implement and monitoring
3. Controller and inverter	5. Plan and implement promotion activities	5. Review potential risks and impacts	5. Loan assessment: Assess credit risk and collateral	5. Estimate system size and costs	5. System Test
4. Water Pump	6. Secure follow-up	6. Adjust planning and operation	6. Loan assessment: Adjust repay­ment plan to cash flow	6. Assess financial viability	6. Documentation
5. Monitoring system				7. Pre-select potential suppliers	7.Hand-over and user training
6. Reservoir				8. Evaluate quotations and assess quality
7. Irrigation head				9. Contract supplier
8. Fertigation system
9. Irrigation system
PROCESS STEPS
	PROMOTE 01 SPIS Rapid As­sessment	SAFEGUARD WATER 01 – Water Re­quirement Tool		DESIGN 01 – Site Date Collection Tool	SET UP 01 – PVP Acceptance Test	MAINTAIN 01 – Maintenance Checklist
		SAFEGUARD WATER 02 – Water Man­agement Tool		DESIGN 02 – SPIS Suitability Check Tool	SET UP 02- Workmanship Quality Checklist	MAINTAIN 02 – Water Applica­tion Uniformity Field Guide
				DESIGN 03 – Solar Pump Siz­ing
				DESIGN 04 – Case Study Mr. Paolo
				DESIGN 05 – Pressure Loss Tool
				DESIGN 06- Farm Analysis Tool
				DESIGN 07- Simpli­fied Finan­cial Viability Tool

Overview of Tools

Name	Type	Description
PROMOTE 01 - SPIS Rapid Assessment	.doc	Table of Content for rapid assessment report on status SPIS in target area
SAFEGUARD WATER 01 – Water Requirement Tool	.xls	Basic water requirement calculation tools for crops and livestock
SAFEGUARD WATER 02 – Water Management Tool	.doc	List of questions to check if the water is managed sustainably
DESIGN 01 - Site Data Collection Tool	.xls	Questionnaire of 29 pages to collect technical, organizational and financial information on site
DESIGN 02 - SPIS Suitability Check Tool	.xls	Qualitative checklist on suitability of a site for SPIS
DESIGN 03 - Pump Sizing Tool	.xlsm	Excel calculation sheet to calculate pumping head and select pump type
DESIGN 04 - Case Study Mr. Paolo	.doc	Case study exercise to calculate design parameters and financial viability of a SPIS (Q & A)
DESIGN 05 - Pressure Loss Tool	.doc	Checklist on pressure losses in the conveyance and irrigation system
DESIGN 06- Farm Analysis Tool	.xlsm	Excel-based financial analysis tool for an agricultural enterprise
DESIGN 07- Simplified Financial Viability Calculation	.xlsm	Simplified Excel-based financial analysis tool for comparing different technologies against agricultural income
SET UP 01 - PVP Acceptance Test	.doc	Guideline to compare the installed with the actual capacity of the pump
SET UP 02- Workmanship Quality Checklist	.xls	Checklist on workmanship quality after installation of a SPIS
MAINTAIN 01 – Maintenance Checklist	.xls	List of questions to check if SPIS is properly maintained
MAINTAIN 02 - Water Application Uniformity Guide	.xls	Background to importance of uniform application of water and instructions to determine the water application uniformity for drip and sprinkler irrigation systems, with accompanying calculation sheet

Technical Glossary

• Click here to view the glossary

Abbreviations

• Click here to view the glossary

Imprint

Published by

• Powering Agriculture – An Energy Grand Challenge for Development
  
• Internet: https://poweringag.org

Production

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)

Project Powering Agriculture – Sustainable Energy for Food Security

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65760 Eschborn, Germany

T +49 61 96 70-0

F +49 61 96 79-1115

info@giz.de

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Editorial Team

• Robert Schultz, GIZ Powering Agriculture
  
• Jan Sass, GFA Consulting Group GmbH (GFA)
  
• Christine Fröhlich, GFA
  
• Andreas Hahn, ah Advice International
  
• Lennart Woltering, GFA
  
• Katja Diembeck, GFA

GIZ is responsible for the content of this publication. Eschborn, October 2016

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