Because the world is trying to be more environmentally friendly and keep non renewable resources for a longer period of time, scientists have been trying to find new inventions for just about everything. One thing that they realized is that they can use wind power for various types of things.
Wind power is used to power homes and now they are using it for irrigation. Wind power is a renewable resource that can never run out. Not only that but it’s friendly to the environment because it comes from nature and it is also free. Scientists around the world have been proposing many different options for harnessing wind power for irrigation.
Two of the different options that they have come up with are to take advantage of mechanical energy that is extracted from the wind and input it into a mechanical pump. They would also use a flywheel so that it would serve the purpose of being a buffer and as storage unit for low wind periods. The second option that they have will utilize the mechanical output from the windmill so that it can generate electricity.
The next step is that this electricity is then fed into an electrolysis cell so that it can produce hydrogen gas. The hydrogen gas that is produced is then burned in an internal combustion engine which drives the pump. Extra hydrogen is saved and put in depleted natural gas wells so that they can use it during low wind periods. They have a back up plan in both of the cases for if the wind is not blowing.
Using wind power for irrigation is a very good alternative to using diesel pumps and electricity pumps for irrigation. It can easily be adopted for rural areas in developing countries, just the initial start up costs maybe a little on the expensive side. However charitable donations from non profit organizations can help with that.