IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v18y2025i12p3102-d1677598.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainable Crop Irrigation with Renewable Energy: A Case Study of Lethbridge County, Alberta

Author

Listed:
  • Mohammad Adnan Aftab

    (Department of Geography and Environment, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada)

  • James Byrne

    (Department of Geography and Environment, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada)

  • Paul Hazendonk

    (Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada)

  • Dan Johnson

    (Department of Geography and Environment, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada)

  • Locke Spencer

    (Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada)

Abstract

The agriculture sector is a major contributor to the economy of Alberta, Canada, accounting for almost 2.8% of the total GDP. Considering its importance, implementing efficient and cost-effective irrigation systems is vital for promoting sustainable agriculture in semi-arid regions like Lethbridge County, Alberta, Canada. Although irrigation is primarily carried out using the Oldman River and its allied reservoirs, groundwater pumping becomes a supplementary necessity during periods of limited surface water availability or droughts. This research investigates the potential of renewable energy resources, such as wind and solar energy, to meet the energy requirements for crop irrigation. The study begins by identifying and calculating the water requirements for major crops in Lethbridge County, such as wheat and barley, using the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s CROPWAT 8.0 software. Subsequently, energy calculations were conducted to meet the specific crop water demand through the design of a hybrid energy system using Homer Pro 3.16.2. A technoeconomic analysis of the renewable hybrid system has been carried out to demonstrate the efficiency and novelty of the proposed work. Outcomes revealed that the proposed system is both efficient and economical in fulfilling the crop water requirement through groundwater pumping, promoting sustainable agriculture, and helping to ensure food security in the region.

Suggested Citation

  • Mohammad Adnan Aftab & James Byrne & Paul Hazendonk & Dan Johnson & Locke Spencer, 2025. "Sustainable Crop Irrigation with Renewable Energy: A Case Study of Lethbridge County, Alberta," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-22, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:12:p:3102-:d:1677598
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/12/3102/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/12/3102/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:12:p:3102-:d:1677598. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.