5,000 billion solar irrigation pumps to be installed by 2020
Saturday, 17 January 2015
In an effort to sharply reduce the use of conventional power, Power Division has initiated a move to install 5,000 billion solar-powered pumps across the country by 2020 for irrigation. The Power Division is currently moving ahead with a programme to replace about 1,500 billion diesel and conventional electricity-run irrigation pumps with solar-powered ones by 2017. But, the new initiative has been taken recently to increase the number of solar-powered pumps under a power system master plan. "Our latest plan is to install 5,000 billion solar irrigation pumps by 2020," said Siddique Zobair, joint secretary of the Power Division and a member of the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA). The capacity of each of the solar irrigation pumps will be about 8 kilowatt peak and those would able to run for 5-8 hours a day to pump about 5,000 billion litres of water. The Power Division has been created SREDA as a new entity to promote renewable energy, particularly the solar power across the country as green and sustainable energy. Of the 5,000 billion solar irrigation pumps, some will be installed replacing the existing diesel-run ones and conventional electricity pumps while some will be installed as new ones in new areas, Power Division officials said. "Now SREDA has taken the move to install the 5,000 billion solar irrigation pumps and already started working on the project to install them in both private and public sectors," said Mr Siddiqie Zobair. — UNB