Idaho Farmers Saving Energy, Reducing Water Loss

Idaho has found great success reducing peak energy demand through an innovative program that provides incentives for farmers to turn off their pumps and stop irrigating in the late afternoon, when evapotranspiration rates are at their highest.

Not only does this strategy save water by encouraging farmers to irrigate during cooler, less evaporative periods of the day, it has also reduced energy demand on hot summer days by more than 5 percent.

As the New York Times reports:

Idaho has lately made a strong showing in energy efficiency: the state was rated “most improved” in a recent energy-efficiency survey, and also topped a Pew survey last month for fastest green job growth.

One innovative program that Idaho is pursuing is paying several hundred farmers to not water their crops on some late afternoons, when the demand for electricity is at its peak. The savings come from not using electric pumps, which consume a great deal of energy ferrying water from, say, a river to a plateau. The Idaho Power Company estimates that on a hot summer afternoon, it can save slightly more than 5 percent of its electric demand.

“You can actually seek the peak drop off when the program kicks in,” said Ric Gale, the vice president for regulatory services at Idaho Power.

“This isn’t some pie-in-the-sky thing,” he added. “This is something that actually delivers.”

These energy savings are huge because peak energy demand--like peak water demand--is what drives the development of new supplies. Reducing peak electricity demand can negate the need for a new power plant or hydroelectric dam.

Improved irrigation scheduling can also result in large water savings. A recent report by the Pacific Institute explains:

A Kansas study found that irrigation scheduling reduced water use by 20% while also reducing energy, fertilizer, and labor costs. The study found that the benefits of irrigation scheduling exceeded the costs, with a net return of nearly $13 per acre (in year 2007 dollars) (Buchleiter et al. 1996). A second study evaluated AgriMet, a meteorological data collection system operated by the USBR in the Pacific Northwest region. A consulting firm in eastern Oregon that incorporates AgriMet weather data into local crop models found that users of the service reduced their water and energy use by about 15% (Dokter 1996). Kranz et al. (1992) found that irrigation scheduling reduced the applied water by 11% and energy use by 17% while improving yields by 3.5%. Likewise, a consulting firm in Washington using AgriMet to provide irrigation scheduling and soil moisture monitoring services to farmers found that some farmers reduced their water and energy use by as much as 50%, while others farmers were under-irrigating their fields. For those under-irrigating, irrigation scheduling increased both water use and yields (Dokter 1996).

Instituting irrigation controls to improve water efficiency and reduce peak electricity demand is a win-win solution for farmers, energy providers and the ratepayers who would have to finance the costs of expanding electricity supplies. As the NYT article notes, similar programs exist in California and through Rocky Mountain Power's (a division of PacifiCorp) Irrigation Load Control Program.