The pistachio tree is an important crop in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. The cultivation area has significantly expanded during recent years, covering approximately 12,000 hectares, that constitutes 80% of the national area. In the pistachio sector, 1,000 tonnes of pistachios are produced annually, primally in the provinces of Ciudad Real, Toledo and Albacete.
Esteban Carrero is one of the agricultural companies located in the municipality of Herencia (Ciudad Real) that cultivate pistachio trees. They contacted the installer Electrotécnicos Manchegos, which specializes in electrical installations in the same municipality. Electrotécnicos Manchegos was tasked with replacing the old solar pump drive and control used for irrigating pistachio plants, as the previous drive was not performing adequately.
The irrigation needs of this type of crop, although not high, typically involve pumping water directly from the subsoil using submersible pumps. The agricultural company already had a solar pumping installation in use comprising of photovoltaic panels, a solar pump drive, and a submerged pump with a nominal power of 7.5 kW. Due to the system's underperformance, Electrotécnicos Manchegos advised the agricultural company to install a new ACQ80 solar pump drive from ABB. ABB's solar pumping technology addresses the challenge of providing water whenever and wherever it is needed, even in remote locations lacking access to AC grid power, utilizing solar photovoltaic panels as the power source.
Improving the overall performance of the system
The ABB ACQ80 solar pump drive is proven for use in water applications. It offers features such as the Maximum Power Point Tracking logic (MPPT) with PID control to achieve the desired water pressure at the output during irrigation. ABB's solar pumping technology addresses the challenge of making water available when and where it is needed.
The outcome of the upgrade has been a clear improvement in the performance of the system, resulting in a 100% increase in system availability doubling of usable hours of solar irradiation compared to the previous year, thanks to the wide operating range of the ACQ80 (from 225 Vdc to 800 Vdc).
New ACQ80 solar pump drive ensures clear benefits
The customer appreciates the drive's control panel for its user-friendly interface and ease of use. Other benefits included remote monitoring of key operating parameters via wireless internet connection. Additionally, the pistachio farmer has reduced the number of visits to the installation site due to incidents by 90%, thanks to the remote monitoring solution, resulting in savings in fuel costs and reduced CO₂ emissions.
