New Model for Determining Optimal PAT Locations: Maximizing Energy Recovery in Irrigation Networks

Abstract

Climate change impacts on irrigated agriculture reveal the necessity of improving water and energy use efficiency and integrating renewable energies in this sector. Pressurized networks are typical in the irrigation sector. In these networks, nodes with excess pressure are frequent and the installation of pressure-reducing devices is required for their proper operation. As these devices imply an energy dissipation previously used, this work focuses on determination of the optimal number and location of pumps as turbines (PATs) in irrigation networks to maximize the energy recovery, provided that the feasibility of installation of each PAT separately is guaranteed considering the large flow fluctuations typical in these networks. The proposed methodology considered theoretical PAT curves and was evaluated in two irrigation networks located in Southern Spain. The results showed three and four potential sites for PAT installation in each network, with total annual energy recovery estimations of 43.1 and 91.8 MWh, a payback period lower than 10 years in most of them, and potential annual CO2 emissions savings up to 13.4 and 28.5 tCO2. The developed model could be an interesting tool to offer irrigation district managers or technicians a baseline hydropower potential scenario in irrigation networks.