Feasibility Study for Implementing Renewable Energy to Power a Groundwater Pump in Rural Guatemala

Communities in rural Guatemala often struggle with obtaining adequate, clean drinking water. A deep groundwater well can provide a clean and sustainable water source for near-by communities. To obtain the groundwater, an electric submersible pump must be installed in the well. Utility power in rural Guatemala can be unreliable and expensive, thus a study has been conducted to establish if using alternative energy is sustainable and economically viable for a groundwater pump for a rural Guatemalan community. The study focused on effectiveness, reliability and cost. A weather station was erected in Sacala las Lomas to collect baseline data for the feasibility study. Wind velocity, wind direction, solar radiation, temperature, precipitation and barometric pressure data were collected. The data were analyzed to determine the potential power generated with solar and wind power. Although the location was in a particularly superior location for sun and wind exposure, installing solar panels and/or a wind turbine would not be feasible for supplying the amount of energy required for a submersible groundwater pump that would meet the needs of the community.