Using Photovoltaic Solar Units for Water Pumping for Irrigation Purposes in Al-Kharga district: A Study in Economic Geography Using Geographic Information Systems

This study aims to examine the use of photovoltaic solar units for pumping water for irrigation purposes in Al-Kharga district, located in the New Valley Governorate. It investigates solar energy potential and production in Al-Kharga, the development of installed capacities of photovoltaic units, and their distribution across the center’s districts. It also explores the evolution of the amount of electricity generated by these units and their geographic distribution, in addition to the distribution of wells that depend on photovoltaic units, their design capacities, the agricultural land areas relying on these units, and the assessment of the impacts of using photovoltaic units for irrigation purposes, alongside identifying the main issues facing these units in the district.
The research adopts a descriptive-analytical approach, in addition to the fundamental and historical approaches, to monitor the temporal dimension of the use of photovoltaic units, the development of their numbers, their installed nominal capacity, and the volume of electricity generated. The study also benefited from field research conducted in 2024, which served as the primary source of data on photovoltaic units, as this information is not available from any governmental entity due to the private sector ownership of these units.The research concluded with several key findings and recommendations, including:

The annual average of sunshine hours in Al-Kharga district is high, reaching 10.9 hours, resulting in a high level of direct solar radiation of 23.6 megajoules/m²/day, which produces an estimated 6.6 kilowatt-hours/m²/day of electrical energy.
There has been a significant increase in reliance on photovoltaic units for water pumping for irrigation purposes in Al-Kharga district. The number of units rose from 14 to 799 during the period 2018–2024, with a percentage change of 5707.1%, while the installed capacity saw a change of 5177.6% over the same period.
The efficiency of photovoltaic units in electricity production for irrigation purposes has notably improved, with a 6203.5% increase in the amount of generated electricity during the period 2018–2024, surpassing the percentage change in installed nominal capacities.
The cost of establishing photovoltaic units is nearly four times higher than that of electric or diesel-powered machines; however, their low operating costs allow for the recovery of the initial investment within the first five years of operation.
It is necessary to reduce customs duties on the components of photovoltaic units and to utilize experts from the New and Renewable Energy Authority to manufacture solar panels locally, which would help lower installation costs.