The German Agency for International Development Cooperation (GIZ) is funding the installation of a solar-powered pumping system in the locality of Khor Bango near the seaside town of Saint Louis in Senegal. The pump is powered by a network of solar panels with a 14.8 kW capacity.
The new solar pump has a capacity of 2000 m3 and will serve the irrigation of 400 market gardeners over a distance of 7 km through an irrigation canal. The project falls within the framework of the Sustainable Energy for Entrepreneurship and Climate Programme (PEDEC), implemented by the Dakar-based NGO Enda Energie.
Sabine Müller, GIZ’s head of Africa, said the newly installed solar pumping system in Khor Bango will strengthen the utilization of solar energy for irrigation systems in order to increase agricultural yields. This type of pumping system serves as an alternative to diesel pumps and will help in developing an innovative financing model for access to high-powered water pumps.
PEDEC aims to promote renewable energies, particularly solar, for creating youth and women employment in rural Senegal. The initiative has already installed mini-solar photovoltaic plants in the regions of Saint Louis, Thiès, Kolda, Fatick, and the Niayes for storage & conservation, processing, powering multimedia centers, and recharging batteries.
Solar pumping systems are an excellent ecological solution for irrigation in rural areas that are not served by the electricity grid. The system can also operate at night if additional sources such as a power generator or an electrical grid are used. A solar pumping system comprises various components like a solar pump, pump controller, dry-running sensor, lightning arrester, solar panels, pressure sensor, etc.
