Prepared
by: Jack Jenkins, Denver Regional Office, January
11, 2001
303 275 4824
jack_jenkins@nrel.gov
Description:
Improved
irrigation technologies and management practices, collectively known as Low
Energy Precision Application (LEPA) irrigation, have consistently provided up
to 40% savings of both electricity and water. This is significant because in many Western states, agriculture
accounts for 75 to 85 percent of all water usage. Also, irrigators demand electricity during the summer when loads
are greatest within the Western Interconnection. Irrigation demand characteristically has a high load factor. For these reasons, irrigators are extremely
vulnerable to potential price increases that could be caused by electricity
supply shortages and the move to competitive electricity markets.
Energy
savings from LEPA result from lower required pumping pressure and precision
application of water, both spatially and over time. The Denver Regional Office
currently has a NICE3 (DOE industrial program) project in eastern Colorado to
help demonstrate and further commercialize these and other precision
agricultural techniques and management practices. The program goal is to lead
commercial farmers to switch to the newer, energy efficient technologies and
management practices.
The
NICE3 demonstration project could be expanded to other states through a below-market
interest rate loan program or a revolving loan program. These programs would assist farmers and
ranchers to finance and economically capitalize their transition to more
efficient, lower-energy irrigation systems. The up-front costs of converting
existing irrigation systems to more efficient ones is the primary barrier most
farmers confront.
States
could employ Universal Systems Benefits Funds, Petroleum Violation Escrow
Account monies, government bond proceeds or appropriations to underwrite the
programs costs. States might want to
review other public policies, such as declining cost block rates for irrigators
and existing water rights laws, to determine whether they discourage energy and
water efficiency and may consider appropriate changes to them.
Savings
and Cost:
A
typical center pivot irrigation machine irrigates approximately 128 acres and,
in Colorado, carries a seasonal energy cost, using pre-2001 electricity rates,
of $8,400. To convert a typical center
pivot to LEPA hardware costs about $15,000.
Twelve years of record keeping on conversions to LEPA by Y-W Well
Testing of Yuma, Colorado, and the State Natural Resources Conservation Board
has shown a typical payback period based on energy savings alone of three to
four years.
Timing:
Our
current demonstration project has been funded for three years. In year-2000, the hardware was installed and
tested under operational conditions.
Production demonstration, data-gathering and integrated software
development will begin in Spring 2001.
A below market interest rate loan program or revolving loan program
could be designed and operated within 12 to 18 months. Equipment installation could be completed
within 3 to 4 months of financing.
Implementation:
The
U.S. Department of Energy’s Denver Regional Office, the Colorado Office of
Energy Conservation, and a partnership comprised of Valmont International, the
world's largest manufacturer of mechanical-move irrigation systems, and the
Colorado Corn Growers Administrative Committee are prepared to assist any state
in replicating this program.
Similar
existing programs:
The
Bonneville Power Administration, the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and
Montana and various electricity cooperatives in the Pacific Northwest have
operated energy efficient irrigation assistance programs. All were, however,
much more limited in scope and were not designed to integrate overall
management and technologies into precision agriculture.
References:
Footnotes: