ENERGY: The sun “irrigates” the land of Senegal with made-in-Italy technologies

Cultivating extremely arid lands by integrating photovoltaic plants with high-efficiency electro-pumps for irrigation is being adopted in Africa, in northern Senegal, thanks to the Italian know-how and innovative technologies applied under a project funded by MAECI.

Farming crops more than tripled, water consumption decreased by 70% and cost of electric power halved, thanks to new photovoltaic plants and high-efficiency pumps. All of these challenges have been met by the FREDDAS project, supported by MAECI (the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation), the Green Cross, and ENEA as technical and scientific partner. That means a great opportunity for Italian enterprises, too.

Cultivating extremely arid lands by integrating photovoltaic plants with high-efficiency electro-pumps for irrigation is being adopted in Africa, in northern Senegal, thanks to the Italian know-how and innovative technologies applied under a project funded by MAECI.

A group of experts from ENEA provide technical support to the project by the design and realization of two photovoltaic plants of 100 kWp and 50 kWp, respectively. They feed  drop-by-drop irrigation systems by using the water of the Senegal River and some local wells. By so doing, water consumption declines by 70% and about 60 hectares of land can be cultivated, ensuring food stocks for over 900 people.

The electric power generated by the PV modules is rather constant over the year whereas, when not employed for water pumping, it is used to store food in refrigerating rooms. A small diesel power unit integrates photovoltaic energy production under peak power demand.

“Families have thus far pumped water with diesel motor-pumps, with a production cost of 40-50 euro cents per kWh“ - says Marco Stefanoni, the ENEA technical experts who designed the plants. “Solar irrigation, instead, allows to half production costs and to even triple farming crops, thus also increasing  farmers’ income’’.

Using these new plants also contributes to better food stocks conservation and transformation, which is crucial to a continent where population is expected to double from 1 to two billion people by mid-century.

“For a reality as Africa’s – with its economy expected to quadruple in 40 years or even less, but where to date only 300 million people can use electric power – renewable energy sources will be the key to fight poverty” – stresses Giovanni De Paoli, the ENEA expert responsible for FREDDAS –  “but also to reduce the use of fossil fuels, contributing to curb the impact of climate change’’.

“Although in Africa the exposure to the sun is possible the whole year through, some barriers prevent a photovoltaic market to set up, namely: low-quality components, lack of local technicians, difficult access to the credit and risks due to political and social situations. Projects like FREDDAS – adds De Paoli – allow to overcome such barriers“.

Prior to setting up the plants, the ENEA experts – agronomists, engineers and biologists – have worked for two years alongside the local communities in order to identify the most appropriate technical and economic solutions. In addition to training local technicians, thanks to FREDDAS project a simulation model has been set-up, available on the web, for the technical and economic performance analysis of the off-grid photovoltaic systems.

“Today large Chinese, Indian, and Korean electrification companies are already present in Africa” – concludes De Paoli - “Why then, being only a step away from Africa, can’t Italy catch this great opportunity to open a new off-grid electrification market in Africa? Specifically ENEA, with its huge multidisciplinary skills and expertise assets, can play a crucial role for strengthening and qualifying the projects promoted by the Italian Development Cooperation  and for ensuring Italian enterprises access to these new green-technology  markets in Africa”.

For more information please contact:

Giovanni De Paoli, Casaccia Research Centre, giovanni.depaoli@enea.it
Marco Stefanoni, Casaccia Research Centre, marco.stefanoni@enea.it

Energy: The sun irrigates Senegal with made in Italy technologies