A review of sustainable solar irrigation systems for Sub-Saharan Africa

This investigation focused on the research undertaken on solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal technologies for pumping water generally for irrigation of remote rural farms specifically considering the Sub-Saharan African region. Solar PV systems have been researched extensively for irrigation p...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wazed, Saeed Mohammed, Hughes, Ben Richard, O'Connor, Dominic, Calautit, John Kaiser
Format: Article
Published: Elsevier 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47417/
_version_ 1848797541824462848
author Wazed, Saeed Mohammed
Hughes, Ben Richard
O'Connor, Dominic
Calautit, John Kaiser
author_facet Wazed, Saeed Mohammed
Hughes, Ben Richard
O'Connor, Dominic
Calautit, John Kaiser
author_sort Wazed, Saeed Mohammed
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description This investigation focused on the research undertaken on solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal technologies for pumping water generally for irrigation of remote rural farms specifically considering the Sub-Saharan African region. Solar PV systems have been researched extensively for irrigation purposes due to the rise in Oil prices and the upscaling in commercialisation of PV technology. Based on the literature the most effective PV system is presented for the irrigation of a small scare remote rural farm with respect to the cost, pumping capacity and system efficiency. Similarly, solar thermal systems are reviewed and the most effective system described. Unlike PV technology, solar thermal technology for water pumping is lacking especially in small scale operations. However, with the possibility of local production, low investment cost, easy maintenance and lower carbon footprint, solar thermal water pumping technologies may be able to overcome the shortcomings of the PV technology that has stopped widespread use of the technology for irrigation applications. Taking into consideration recent developments in concentrated solar technologies using the Stirling engine, novel solar thermal water pumping systems may be developed. This review also highlighted the different methodologies such as modelling, used to investigate and optimise the performance of solar powered systems.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T20:05:31Z
format Article
id nottingham-47417
institution University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T20:05:31Z
publishDate 2018
publisher Elsevier
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling nottingham-474172020-05-04T19:29:21Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47417/ A review of sustainable solar irrigation systems for Sub-Saharan Africa Wazed, Saeed Mohammed Hughes, Ben Richard O'Connor, Dominic Calautit, John Kaiser This investigation focused on the research undertaken on solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal technologies for pumping water generally for irrigation of remote rural farms specifically considering the Sub-Saharan African region. Solar PV systems have been researched extensively for irrigation purposes due to the rise in Oil prices and the upscaling in commercialisation of PV technology. Based on the literature the most effective PV system is presented for the irrigation of a small scare remote rural farm with respect to the cost, pumping capacity and system efficiency. Similarly, solar thermal systems are reviewed and the most effective system described. Unlike PV technology, solar thermal technology for water pumping is lacking especially in small scale operations. However, with the possibility of local production, low investment cost, easy maintenance and lower carbon footprint, solar thermal water pumping technologies may be able to overcome the shortcomings of the PV technology that has stopped widespread use of the technology for irrigation applications. Taking into consideration recent developments in concentrated solar technologies using the Stirling engine, novel solar thermal water pumping systems may be developed. This review also highlighted the different methodologies such as modelling, used to investigate and optimise the performance of solar powered systems. Elsevier 2018-01-31 Article PeerReviewed Wazed, Saeed Mohammed, Hughes, Ben Richard, O'Connor, Dominic and Calautit, John Kaiser (2018) A review of sustainable solar irrigation systems for Sub-Saharan Africa. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 81 . pp. 1206-1225. ISSN 1364-0321 Solar energy; Solar water pumping; Photovoltaics; Concentrated solar thermal; Stirling engine; Irrigation http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032117311814#! doi:10.1016/j.rser.2017.08.039 doi:10.1016/j.rser.2017.08.039
spellingShingle Solar energy; Solar water pumping; Photovoltaics; Concentrated solar thermal; Stirling engine; Irrigation
Wazed, Saeed Mohammed
Hughes, Ben Richard
O'Connor, Dominic
Calautit, John Kaiser
A review of sustainable solar irrigation systems for Sub-Saharan Africa
title A review of sustainable solar irrigation systems for Sub-Saharan Africa
title_full A review of sustainable solar irrigation systems for Sub-Saharan Africa
title_fullStr A review of sustainable solar irrigation systems for Sub-Saharan Africa
title_full_unstemmed A review of sustainable solar irrigation systems for Sub-Saharan Africa
title_short A review of sustainable solar irrigation systems for Sub-Saharan Africa
title_sort review of sustainable solar irrigation systems for sub-saharan africa
topic Solar energy; Solar water pumping; Photovoltaics; Concentrated solar thermal; Stirling engine; Irrigation
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47417/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47417/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47417/