- Nearly half of Bangladesh’s irrigation prices are because of irrigation, and the diesel pumps that at present energy irrigation networks are accountable for 1.6% of the nation’s greenhouse gasoline emissions.
- To tackle each points, the federal government launched a nationwide program to steadily substitute these diesel pumps with solar-powered ones, aiming to chop irrigation-related emissions by 0.8 million metric tons of 2030.
- It additionally stated that since irrigation use is concentrated within the non-monsoon months, extra power generated by the pumps throughout the remainder of the time could be fed into the grid, offering as much as 480 gigawatt-hours of fresh power. in a single yr.
- In pilot applications, nevertheless, farmers expressed concern over the reliability of photo voltaic pump methods, particularly for water-intensive crops resembling rice and corn, and in addition famous that their irrigation prices remained excessive. the identical.
Bangladesh plans to section out diesel-powered irrigation pumps for photo voltaic to chop carbon emissions, however the nation’s farmers have expressed concern about energy availability throughout unhealthy climate and uncertainty. at price.
The initiative is being hailed as guaranteeing that the South Asian nation can generate an extra 480 gigawatt-hours of fresh power per yr, and is a part of the federal government’s commitments to chop emissions below the 2015 Paris local weather settlement. Diesel-powered irrigation pumps account for about 1.6% of Bangladesh’s complete greenhouse gasoline emissions; the federal government has a aim of slicing 0.8 million tons of emissions in 2030 from irrigation extra broadly.
Several photo voltaic irrigation pilot applications have been underway lately throughout Bangladesh, managed by the Infrastructure Development Company (IDCOL). The NGO has put in 2,226 photo voltaic irrigation pumps in several elements of the nation, involving personal sector firms. From there, farmers obtain irrigation water at a hard and fast price primarily based on time and placement.
Cutting prices and enhancing the clear power sector
The authorities has additionally developed a highway map for discontinuing diesel-powered irrigation choices, together with technical and monetary necessities and advantages. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has contributed $42.4 million to assist the transition, which can see some 45,000 photo voltaic irrigation pump (SIP) methods substitute 200,000 diesel pumps. The new pumps will serve about 400,000 hectares (virtually 1 million hectares) of farmland managed by greater than 1.3 million farmers.
To totally notice the targets of the highway map, the federal government may have to collect a gaggle of donors, together with the ADB, to generate about $800 million in grants and loans, in accordance with Saber Hossain Chowdhury, the surroundings minister. and local weather change.
Siddique Jubair, a former member of the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA), known as the transition an acceptable and sustainable resolution that might additionally cut back dependence on imported diesel. Under the plan, the federal government declared an annual discount in diesel consumption of 300,000 metric tons, and averted emissions of 900,000 metric tons equal to CO2. It can also be anticipated to scale back prices for farmers; Irrigation at present accounts for 43% of complete agricultural expenditure, in accordance with the ADB.
And since a lot of the demand for pumped irrigation happens exterior of the wet season, from December to May, the surplus power generated by the photo voltaic pumps could be fed into the grid, offering as much as 480 GWh per yr, or virtually 1% of the present complete of Bangladesh. electrical era, stated Chowdhury.
Identified early issues
Beyond the vaunted advantages, nevertheless, the rollout of photo voltaic pumps has had some issues, with farmers complaining that the pumps typically fail to offer the required irrigation throughout inclement climate. that point and at night time.
Masud Rana, a farmer within the Jhenaidah district of southwestern Bangladesh, farms a 1.2-hectare (3-acre) plot of land as a part of the pilot scheme. He grows rice and corn, crops that require fixed watering.
“But we do not get water on time as a result of the pumps do not work throughout the night time and even on wet days,” he instructed Mongabay.
To present the crops with the required water, he and different farmers typically need to resort to utilizing diesel-run pumps or electric-powered tube wells. The price of irrigating his farm is similar in any case, says Rana.
Jubair acknowledged that there have been issues with the early adoption of photo voltaic pumps, and stated farmers would nonetheless use diesel-powered pumps in emergencies. The authorities didn’t instantly ban it, he emphasised, however created the infrastructure to make sure that the solar-powered irrigation system works all through the nation.
Banner picture: Electric irrigation pump in a rice subject in Chuadanga, Bangladesh. Picture of Muhammad Mostafigur Rahman.
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