Using Photovoltaic Panels with Pumped-Hydro Energy Storage for The Irrigation System of Sugar Cane Plantation at district of Magude-Mozambique

Luís Lourenço Xavier de Freitas Pestana

Key information

Authors:

Luís Lourenço Xavier de Freitas Pestana (Luís Lourenço Xavier de Freitas Pestana)

Supervisors:

Modesto Pérez Sánchez; Paulo José da Costa Branco (Paulo José da Costa Branco)

Published in

09/17/2021

Abstract

he population increase Mozambique has been experiencing, places additional challenges to the management and exploration of natural resources. In this regard, access to water and electric energy required for irrigation are fundamental to the development of the agriculture sector and well-being of local populations. In this work, the study is focused on a sugarcane plantation, Macuvulane I, located in the district of Magude, province of Maputo, with a smallholders association in charge of the exploration of the plantation. Irrigation is done by pumping water from the Incomati river, and with the pumps connected to the national electric grid significant energetic costs incur. With the water requirements for both the crop and location in question determined, the energy consumption required to ensure a correct irrigation of the plantation is estimated. Given its good geographic location in terms of solar incidence, the introduction of a photovoltaic park is a very appealing option for the case study. It is expected that an extensive number of panels will be needed as it is working with one of the largest sugarcane producers in Mozambique. For this, 3 scenarios are considered: application of 1, 2 or 3 photovoltaic parks. In this way, it will be possible to see if a greater investment leads to a lower return. With return values between 10 and 20 years, and hoping that this is a market in which it will have a bet on the future as it had until now, it is more than acceptable to make such investments.