- The Regantes Community of Las Vegas Media and Alta del Segura in Blanca will have six photovoltaic solar plants to reduce energy costs of irrigation
- Water and humidity quality control systems will be installed and the digitalization and automation of irrigation will be completed from the existing remote control
- In the Region of Murcia, the MAPA, plans to execute 9 irrigation modernization actions worth 71.16 million euros
April 23, 2023. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, through the State Commercial Society of Agrarian Infrastructures (SEIASA), has today signed an agreement with the Community of Irrigators of Zone II of Las Vegas Alta and Media del Segura de Blanca (Murcia), to address energy modernization works and digitalization of irrigation management worth 8 million euros (VAT not included).
The signing of the agreement, signed between the president of SEIASA, Francisco Rodríguez Mulero, and the president of the Community of Regants, Juan Jesus Cano Rengel, was attended by the delegate of the Government in Murcia, Mariola Guevara Cava.
The objective of the action is, on the one hand, to build six photovoltaic solar energy installations for self-consumption, which allows to dispense with the use of fossil energies to feed the irrigation infrastructures, reducing energy costs and CO2 emissions to the atmosphere.
WATER QUALITY AND DIGITIZATION
On the other hand, systems will be implemented to control water quality and water efficiency, with water quality and humidity control probes, the readings of which will be turned into the telecontrol system that the Community currently has, completing the digitalization and automation of the entire irrigation system.
In line with this digitization, the introduction of WIMAX technology in communications with the control center and the creation of a GIS and web page with user access is foreseen.
The improvements will benefit 460 irrigators who cultivate 2,973 hectares of fruit, citrus and vine, in the municipal terms of Blanca and Ulea.
This modernization is part of the Plan for the Improvement and Efficiency of Sustainability in Irrigation of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan Phase I of the Government of Spain and has Next Generation funds from the European Union.
The public-private nature of these funds means that the public contribution will be a maximum of 80 percent of the cost of eligible expenses, while the community of users subject to the action will contribute the rest. In addition, the works must be completed by 2026.
In addition to the project that was the subject of the agreement signed today, in the Regantes Community of Las Vegas Alta and Media del Segura in Blanca, MAPA, through SEIASA, has previously completed two modernization actions (Phases I and II) and currently has another one in execution (Phase III), which means, overall, an investment of around 35 million euros.
71, 16 MILLION IN 7 PERFORMANCES
In the Region of Murcia, MAPA plans to implement a total of 9 modernization projects by 2026, with an investment of 71.16 million euros (VAT not included).