Implementation of a Collapsible Solar Power Station for Farm Irrigation

Solar-powered irrigation systems are considered an economically and environmentally viable approach to reduce farms’ dependency on fossil fuels in providing adequate water to crops. In this study, a grid-isolated collapsible solar power station is developed for irrigation systems based on the actual water requirements of the crops and the farm. The contribution lies in elaborating the methodology for designing a solar-powered irrigation system based on the target area’s water requirement, which is very much dependent on the environmental conditions. Evapotranspiration, effective rainfall, farm geometry, soil characteristics, and crop type are relevant factors in calculating the farm water requirement. For a rice paddy field with an area of 1,000 square meters in Lobo, Batangas, Philippines, the highest farm water requirement is about 36.81 millimeters per day. A solar power station with 600-watt photovoltaic panels and 287-ampere-hour battery capacity can drive a 400-watt submersible pump to provide the required flow rate of 83.33 liters per minute, achieving the farm water requirement within 7.36 hours of operation.