Wind data analysis for studying the feasibility of using windmills for irrigation

Abstract Agriculture is a major consumer of energy in many countries of the world. Only a few of these countries are self-sufficient in conventional energy sources, which are also exhaustible. Fortunately, there are other sources of energy, such as wind, solar and biomass, which are available in unlimited quantities. This paper discusses the possibility of using windmills for lifting irrigation water. Ten years of mean hourly windspeed data on a monthly basis from Veraval, a coastal township in Gujurat State, India, were used for this purpose. The wind data were used to estimate the daily volumes of water pumped by a windmill under different assumed total heads. The estimated discharges during the day, at night and during a 24-hour period were used to calculate the recurrence intervals for different water availabilities. An example is given illustrating the use of the procedure to select crops, estimate cropping area and adjust irrigation schedules.