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Solar powered orchard irrigation system in Croatia saves 33,500 litres diesel yearly

The produced electricity is used to power pumps for an orchard irrigation system. The installation was realised together with a strategic project partner this year in May. Luxor Solar delivered for this project 363 polycrystalline Ecoline LX-250P modules to Kneževi Vinogradi in the north-east of Croatia. At the same time, the old water pumps for the irrigation of an orchard. have been replaced by more efficient ones. The investor Rabo Ltd. completed end of May the construction of the new solar pump station (SPS).

Replacement of diesel generators

The pumps are located at three plants outside the village. In the past, six water pumps transported water and irrigated the orchards at the plant Rabo I - III. The system was powered by diesel generators which used 33,500 litres fuel per year. This corresponds to 330.2 MWh of electricity. The major goal of the project was to replace diesel with a more environmental-friendly energy source. The new solar pump system only needs about 123 MWh electricity yearly.

New solar pump station

The plant Rabo I powers the pump which transports the water from the source to the lagoon where it is stored. The expected solar energy production is about 16.4 MWh per year. Rabo II produces power to transport the water from the lagoon to the reservoir. For this segment, 42 MWh solar electricity p.a. are expected. At Rabo III, 64.8 MWh clean electricity p.a. are estimated, to transport water from the reservoir to the orchards. In summary, the irrigation system in Kneževi Vinogradi produces 123.2 MWh electricity p.a. which covers 100 percent of the total demand for the new SPS. The estimated CO2 savings are 48.44 tons p.a.

With more than 3.5 MW of installed capacity, Luxor Solar has a market share of about 10 percent in Croatia. (HCN)

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