SANTIAGO, Oct 29 (IPS) – Producing solar energy through panels installed on the roofs of smallholder farmers’ properties or community groups is starting to directly benefit a growing number of farmers in Chile.
This energy lowers costs for farmers by enabling technologized irrigation systems, pumping water and supporting farmers’ businesses. This also allows farmer cooperatives to share surplus produce.
The huge solar and wind energy potential of this long country of 19.5 million people is the basis of a transformation that is beginning to benefit not only large generators.
The potential capacity of solar and wind power is estimated at 2,400 gigawatts (GW), which is 80 times the total capacity of Chile’s current energy matrix.
two farmhouses
Fanny Lastra, 55, was born in the city of Mulchén, located in the center of the Bío Bío region, 550 km south of Santiago. She has lived in the rural area of Mirador del Bío Bío in the village since she was eight years old.
“We received a grant of 12 million pesos (US$12,600) to install a solar power system with sprinklers to better utilize the small amount of water on our 5-hectare farm and produce a good alfalfa crop,” she told IPS. I received it,” he told IPS. In her hometown.
She cites the resources provided by two government agencies, mainly through grants: the National Irrigation Commission (CNR) and the Institute for Agricultural Development (Indap), to applicants who are selected based on their background and farm situation.
“Before I had to irrigate all night long, I didn’t sleep, but now I can optimize my irrigation. The panels provide the energy to pump water out through the sprinklers. In the future, another solar panel will be installed to draw water and supply it. We plan to apply to fill our storage pool,” Lastra said.
The region has received abundant rainfall this year, but larger ponds will allow it to store water during the increasingly frequent dry spells.
“We have water sharing (rights), but we have so many small farmers that we have to schedule them. In my case, I get water for 28 hours every nine days. So I applied for another project,” she said.
Lastra primarily works with children on farms where livestock are raised.
The conversion of farmland like hers, rampant in many parts of Chile, into sites for second homes has also reached Bío Bío and created the Lastra problem. For example, abandoned dogs recently killed 50 of her sheep.
That’s why she will gradually transition to raising larger livestock to continue her grandmother’s tradition, as she called it, of producing fresh and aged cheeses and dulce de leche.
Marisol Pérez, 53, produces vegetables in greenhouses and outdoors on a half-hectare plot in the village of San Ramón, Bío Bío region, Quillón municipality, 448 km south of Santiago.
In February 2023, she was damaged by a major fire. “Two greenhouses, a shed with a motor tiller, a fumigator and all the machinery were lost. And a poultry house with 200 birds worth 4,500 pesos (US$4.70) each. Part of the house and solar panels were destroyed. I thank God for saving me.” She spoke to IPS from his hometown.
Pérez has been working the land with her sister and her husband for 11 years.
“We started with irrigation and solar panels. After the fire, we applied them again to CNR. The panels did not burn, so they helped us build greenhouses. The government will provide us with a certain amount, so we have to put in at least 10,” he said. explained.
The first grant was worth US$1,053, and the second grant after the fire was worth US$842. Both allowed her to reinstall the drip system and rebuild the greenhouse, which is now made of metal.
“Using solar panels can save you a lot of money. Previously, I was paying almost 200,000 pesos (US$210) a month. Now I am paying 6,000 pesos (US$6.3) in savings from the panels.” “She explained with satisfaction. .
“Solar panels seem really good,” she said. “If we don’t use water in the greenhouse, we use it in the house. We make a living from what we harvest and plant. That’s our life. And I’m happy.” “That’s it,” she said.
Cases of 1 cooperative and 2 local governments
The spread of solar panels is also due to falling prices. Chilean solar power company Solarity reported that prices have reached historic lows.
In 2021, the value per kilowatt (kWp) was $292. It increased to $300 in 2022, then decreased to $202, reaching $128 in 2024.
In 2021, Cooperativa Intercomunal Peumo (Coopeumo) commissioned Chile’s first community solar power plant. Currently, a total of 120 panels with a capacity of 54.2 kWp are installed in two factories.
The energy generated is partly used in its own facilities, and any surplus is injected into the Compañía General de Electricidad (CGE), a private distributor that pays monthly contributions.
This money will contribute to improving support for our 350 members and all farmers in the region, including technical assistance, agricultural input sales, crop marketing and tax consultancy.
Coopeumo’s goals include reducing carbon dioxide (C02) emissions into the atmosphere and providing benefits to its members.
It also benefits the municipalities of Pichidegua and Las Cabras, located 167km and 152km south of Santiago, as well as schools, health centers and nearby facilities.
“The energy savings for a month like August 2024 were 492,266 pesos (US$518),” said Ignacio Mena, 37, a computer engineer who works as a network administrator for Coopeumo, based in the city of Fumo. O’Higgins area borders the Santiago metropolitan area to the south.
Speaking to IPS at his office in Pichidegua, he said the construction of the first plant cost US$42,105, with equal contributions from Coopeumo and the private foundation Agencia de Sostenibilita Energética.
Constanza López, 35, a hazard prevention engineer and head of the environmental department of the municipality of Las Cabras, appreciates the contribution of the panels installed on the roofs of municipal buildings. The output is 54kW and it has been in operation since 2023.
“We awarded the grant through the Energy Sustainability Agency. They funded 30 per cent and we funded the rest,” she told IPS at her municipal office. “This is the first year the program is fully operational and we need to reach maximum production,” she said.
For the municipality of Las Cabras, the annual savings are approximately US$10,605.
Panel and family farming, virtuous cycle
For small farmers, there is a virtuous cycle between panel use and savings. The Department of Energy estimates these savings to be about 15 percent for small farms.
“The use of solar technology for self-consumption is a viable alternative for users in the agricultural sector. More and more systems are being installed, which can help reduce electricity bills for customers,” the ministry said in a written response.
Since 2015, successive governments have promoted the use of renewable energy in the agricultural sector, especially solar systems for self-consumption.
“The number of projects using renewable energy for self-consumption is steadily increasing. A total of 1,741 irrigation projects have been implemented, with a capacity of 13,852 kW and a total investment of 59,951 million pesos (US$63.1 million),” the ministry said.
CNR told IPS that so far in 2024, it has awarded grants to more than 1,000 projects submitted by farmers across Chile.
“Considering the contribution of subsidies and irrigation facilities worth close to 62 billion pesos ($65.2), this is an investment close to 78 billion pesos (USD 82.1 million),” it said.
It added that at least 270 of these projects involve non-traditional renewable energy, such as “solar power systems associated with irrigation operations.”
Between September 2023 and August 2024, combined wind and solar power in Chile reached 28,489 gigawatt hours, according to the National Electricity Coordinator, an autonomous technical body that coordinates the entire Chilean electricity system.
Non-conventional renewables, including solar and wind, accounted for 41% of Chile’s electricity production in the first quarter of 2024, according to figures from the same technology institute.
© Interpress Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Interpress Service
