Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
countries will have applications in developed countries also. Such
LED lamps can be powered by one or two solar panels fixed on
roofsindevelopedregions,creatingalargedemandforsolarenergy
application companies. In addition to solar home systems, there are
numerous applications in the 50 W power range; street lighting,
solarlanterns,solar-poweredtelephonebooths,andtra
clightsare
only some.
10.5 Applications in Drip Irrigation Systems
(
∼
100 W Range)
Being an agricultural country with about 80% of the population
livinginvillages,SriLankaislikelytoexperiencerapiddevelopment
in food production with small drip irrigation systems powered by
single solar panels of
100 W each (Fig. 10.4). This requires only a
1m
2
solar panel with a 10% conversion e
ciency. At present, Sri
Lanka has the largest solar-powered drip irrigation programme in
the world, introduced by the Ministry of Agriculture. Five thousand
systemshavebeendistributedinthedryzone,andsomeofthemare
usedveryeffectivelytoproducecrops,increasingadditionalincome
forvillagefamilies.Moresystemsshouldbeinstalledineverypartof
Sri Lanka among village communities in order to reduce poverty in
these communities and enhance the most-needed food production.
Although the additional power produced by these 5,000 systems
at the place of energy requirement is only 0.5 MW, the impact of
thesethroughwealthcreation,socialdevelopment,andreductionof
poverty is substantial.
Many parts of the world are slowly becoming deserts, and
the rate is alarming. Drip irrigation using the plentiful sunshine
available will create the food we require and slow down the
detrimental desertification. Introduction of organised tree-planting
projects will convert sandy lands to a green carpet, converting arid
areastopleasantoases.Withtheexpectedpopulationof9-10billion
people by the middle of the 21st century, habitable lands should be
preserved and more food should be produced. Solar technology will
help to establish both if these applications are rapidly introduced in
society.
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