The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, through the State Mercantile Society of Agricultural Infrastructures (Seiasa), has started the irrigation modernization works that will allow the Junta Central de Usuarios del Norte de la Vega del Río Segura, in Murcia, to have solar photovoltaic installations for the pumping of their irrigation systems.
This action, which has a budget of 272,340 euros, will modernize an irrigation area of 4,500 hectares, belonging to some 800 irrigators in the town of Cieza. The work is expected to be completed in approximately nine weeks.
The main goal of these modernization works is to improve the energy efficiency of the irrigation systems, as they'll stop consuming energy from the electricity grid and replace it with photovoltaic solar energy with the consequent reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions.
To this end, authorities plan to install two photovoltaic stations for self-consumption without surpluses in the Cieza I and Cieza II pumping stations. This will enable greater energy independence from the grid, reducing operating costs and increasing the crop's profitability.
The action is part of the First Phase of the Plan for Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience and is co-financed by Next Generation funds from the European Union. 80% of the work's cost will be covered by public funds and the remaining 20% by the communities of irrigators and users that are the object of the action.
For more information:
Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación
www.mapa.gob.es