The Study of Potential Use of PV Pump for the Rain-Fed Rice Land in Simeulue Island by Using Homer Simulation

Abstract

Simeuleu is one of the districts in Aceh Province which is located in the outer territory of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. In general, communities in districts with island clusters consisting of 147 large and small islands rely on agriculture and fishermen. One of the agricultural sub-sectors that is the main concern of the government is food, especially rice as the staple food of the community. Limited land resources supported by appropriate and adequate infrastructure have resulted in this business experiencing serious challenges and constraints. Of the available rice field area, 43.11% is rainfed lowland. During this time to irrigate some of the land, the potential of rainfall owned is considered able to meet the water needs of rice crops. However, the emergence of global climate change symptoms has led to cultivation efforts that rely on rainwater alone can not be expected completely. The irrigation technology of PV pumps has excellent prospects for the future of agriculture especially the food sector. This technology is very cheap for long term and also simple so easy to make and modified by anyone. PV pump irrigation does not require the operator to operate it, it is only necessary once check and control. The main benefit of solar irrigation technology development is to maintain environmental sustainability because it does not produce air pollution so that it can suppress the increase of global warming.