Solar water pumping clean water for Sudan rural areas

The Republic of Sudan in Eastern Africa has one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. However. its remotely isolated rural areas pose problems to rural energy management and development because of poor road links with the urban centres, and remoteness from the national electrical transmission grid. Development of renewable energy sources. therefore, has a vast potential in Sudan. Solar energy. with excellent sunshine of over 3000 h per year, is of paramount importance, the applications of which art already quite significant and are growing at steady rate. Solar energy is suitable thr small-scale water pumping in remote areas where the demand is regular. such as for drinking water, hut it may also he used for irrigation. Most areas in Sudan hal have climates suitable for solar pumping. A review is given of the use of solar energy for water pumping to improve the living conditions of the population in rural areas and to develop techniques for utilization of solar energy in a tropical environment condition. Results. suggests that, solar powered water pumping must be encouraged, promoted, invested, implemented, and demonstrated by full scale in Sudan. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.