Designing a practical training programme for Solar PV pumped irrigation

Organisers: ICIMOD, AEPC

About the training

Organised in collaboration with the Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC), this one-day workshop will bring together various stakeholders, including system designers and policymakers to review and refine the training content and delivery of the practical training programme for Solar PV pumped irrigation. This refinement will be carried out based on the feedback and suggestions received from participants, trainers, and experts from various relevant sectors.

Objectives

• Share findings of the capacity-building training on solar PV lift irrigation solutions conducted at the provincial and local levels
• Generate recommendations on the practical training and capacity-building programme for solar PV lift irrigation solutions

Expected outputs

• Relevant practical training package including – prerequisite, content, expertise, resources, tools, and appropriate training period
• Identifying appropriate institutional mechanisms for institutionalising the capacity-building activity at all three government levels
• Tracking mechanisms for the effectiveness of the capacity-building activities

Background

Despite agriculture’s importance, the penetration of renewable energy within the agriculture value chain in Nepal remains alarmingly low. This lack of renewable energy integration represents a missed opportunity to leverage climate adaptation measures in the sector. The agricultural sector can greatly benefit from renewable energy solutions, particularly in irrigation and post-harvest activities such as storage and processing. To address this issue, it is imperative to develop customer-oriented renewable energy solutions tailored specifically to the agriculture value chain. Such solutions would not only improve the sector’s energy efficiency but also serve as effective climate adaptation measures, mitigating the adverse effects of climate change.

To catalyse this transformation, ICIMOD, backed by the generous support of the Government of Norway, has launched the ‘Green Energy Management for Mountain Economies (GEM) and Food Security Project’. Collaborating closely with AEPC, the project aims to foster climate-resilient agriculture by integrating renewable energy solutions. Its primary objectives encompass generating substantial evidence, promoting the commercialisation of innovative solutions, strengthening capacity-building initiatives, and offering policy support to widespread renewable energy adoption in agriculture.

The implementation was entrusted to the Center for Environmental Agricultural Policy Research, Extension and Development (CEAPRED). Under the GEM component, capacity-building events were organised at national, regional, and district levels.

Series of the trainings conducted in close collaboration with AEPC targeted engineers and sub-engineers across various divisions, encompassing irrigation, drinking water, and municipalities, engaging 80 participants. The training was meticulously crafted to augment both knowledge and practical skills essential for technical design and detailed feasibility studies of solar-powered irrigation systems. Furthermore, a two-day training course on Detailed Feasibility Studies (DFS) for solar-powered pumped irrigation was conducted in Doti, Salyan, Surkhet, and Kavre districts. This training uncovered a significant concern: a prevalent lack of in-house capacity to design these systems. Disturbingly, more than 50% of existing systems face considerable functionality issues, primarily attributed to electromechanical complications.