Downloading the cloud: improved irrigation systems in southern Spain
2012-02-06 - Automation can dramatically improve the effectiveness of crop irrigation systems, but these systems can be difficult to install and maintain in remote locations since their control elements are usually out of doors, exposed to extreme weather conditions, and mains electricity is generally unavailable.
ABB’s Neptuno system overcome these constraints and is already in use on farms in Spain, helping to minimize water consumption and improve productivity.Initial reports from these installations show average savings of between 15 and 40 percent in water consumption depending on the irrigation system size; 10 to 25 percent in electricity consumption; and a 20 percent improvement in crop productivity, thanks to more effective irrigation regimes.
The community of Canal del Zújar, 250 km south west of Madrid, for example, hosts 11,122 plots across a vast 210 square-kilometer belt of prime agricultural land. Since the introduction of ABB’s Neptuno system, the annual electricity bill has been reduced by almost 12 percent and water consumption by 20 percent. At the same time, maintenance personnel have reduced their annual driving distance by a total of 20,000 km. These savings are expected to increase as more farmers join the scheme.
Similarly farmers of the Lorca community, in southern Spain, have saved more than $900,000 across a 125 km2 area just by reducing the amount of water used. Alongside the cost reductions, farmers also value their improved ability to control their irrigation systems from anywhere and at any time. Being able to respond instantly to changing field conditions improves productivity, and less time spent driving form site to site means lower fuel consumption and less wear and tear on vehicles. As a rough estimate, maintenance crews can avoid around 100 km of driving each year for every square kilometer of land under irrigation.
So how does it work?
ABB’s Neptuno system uses SCADA technology and M2M communications (largely based on GPRS communications) to manage irrigation programs. Remote terminal units (RTUs) collect data from points around the system and transmit it to a central location, enabling the control of watering regimes and the monitoring of conditions. Since the RTUs can run on long-life or rechargeable batteries, which can be fed by solar panels, they can be placed exactly where they are needed, and moved around as conditions change.
To ensure minimal energy consumption and costs, the RTUs can be configured to activate, for example, only when a preselected event occurs or during low-tariff electricity periods, or if an alarm is triggered. Preset watering periods can be overridden if, for example, soil humidity falls below a certain point. Parameters can be set remotely using mobile communications, so the farmer can make fewer trips to the fields, making further cost savings.
To prevent external interference with the control system, Neptuno uses a private APN (Access Point Network), enabling users to assign a fixed IP address to each RTU in the network. In addition to securing information, this also minimizes the volume of communications traffic and transmission time in the system.
Neptuno enables farmers to monitor and control their irrigation systems from smart phones or personal computerABB’s Neptuno irrigation control systems have helped Spanish farmers reduce crop production costs and minimize water consumption without needing to employ expert operators or invest in sophisticated computer systems. Using the SaaS approach puts optimization solutions in the hands of more irrigators, bringing sustainable operational improvements through the conservation of water and energy.
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