Comparative Performance of Wind and Electric Pumps for Irrigation

Abstract

Wind energy technology may turn out to be the best alternative compared to the use of hydro electric power for pumping water for irrigation in certain parts of Ghana during the dry season. This paper focuses on evaluating the performance of wind and electric pump through the mounting of an experiment in order to do a comparative evaluation of the investment cost of running the two energy-based pumping systems in the Keta District which provides one of the best wind regimes in Ghana. Farmers in these coastal communities may have engaged in the use of wind energy for water pumping but for its high initial cost. Despite the high initial cost farmers could form cooperative societies in order to run a wind energy pumping system. The high electricity tariff paid every month for power consumption deters majority of the farmers using hydro electricity technology for pumping. A total investment cost of ¢4095.80 per hectare was incurred by farmers using the electric power whilst ¢929.80 per hectare by those using the wind power technology for every farming season. A difference of ¢3166.00 could be saved for other uses by farmers practicing the wind energy technology.

Tehnologija energije vetra može da postane najbolja alternativa hidro električnom pogonu pumpi za navodnjavanje određenih delova Gane tokom sušne sezone. Ovaj rad se bavi ocenom performansi pumpi sa vetro i električnim pogonom kroz ogled u kome se uporedno ispituju investicioni troškovi rada pumpnih sistema sa ova dva pogona u oblasti Keta, koji ima najbolje režime vetra u Gani. Farmeri u ovim obalnim zajednicama su pokušali upotrebu vetro-pogona za vodene pumpe, ali sa velikim inicijalnim troškovima. Uprkos visokim troškovima, farmer mogu da osnuju kooperative da bi pokrenuli system pumpi sa vetro-pogonom. Visoka cena električne energije koju plaćaju svakog meseca odvraća većinu farmera od upotrebe hidro-električne tehnologije za pumpanje. Ukupna investicija kod farmera koji su koristili elektro pogon je iznosila ¢4095.80 po hektaru, dok je kod farmera koji su koristili vetro pogon u svakoj sezoni investicija iznosila ¢929.80 po hektaru. Razlika od ¢3166.00 se može uštedeti i upotrebiti za druge namene.