Direct solar irrigation in an orchard

Lumpiaque (Zaragoza, Spain)
bomba-agua

Pumping station

55kW deep well submersible pump

Solar generator

60kWp horizontal single-axis solar tracker installation
aspersor

Topology

Direct irrigation from well
planta

Cultivation

Orchard

Technology

DC Pumping Station
DC Pumping Controller

Operational records

Performance evaluation and optimal setting using Orbit 360 Data Logger

Real-Time remote-control

Remote pumping control and incident detection application

Payback period

5 years

It is an installation isolated from the electrical network and that feeds a deep well submersible pump. Bombeatec executed the turnkey project, which includes the installation of a new pump and the pipeline, the hydrocyclone, the solar trackers, the solar panels, and the DC PUMPING STATION.
The installation has a generator that allows it to work in hybrid mode to be able to meet the water needs in the months of high demand when the solar hours are not enough. In this case, the generator starts at nightfall to finish the pending irrigation hours.
As it is a direct irrigation from a well, it is an essential requirement that the PV generator be built on a solar tracker with a North-South orientation to obtain the desired pumping results and work efficiently in the different hydraulic regimes.
The system is totally autonomous thanks to the DC PUMPING CONTROLLER, which performs an intelligent management of the system. The following functionalities should be highlighted:

  • Pump start/stop efficient management considering solar intermittency and cloud passages
  • Irrigation and fertigation programming
  • Wireless communications for managing solenoid valves and irrigation sectors
  • Integrated control of trackers
  • Mobile app for remote access
  • Auxiliary energy source management: night start of the diesel group if the scheduled irrigation hours for that day have not been completed (priority irrigation option)