Discussing the potential of using submersive water pumps powered by photovoltaic panels in agriculture and the alternative use for the supply of households in Romania

According to the current leadership of the EU Parliament, the use of renewable energy should not only represent a condition for emission reduction as an ecological demand, but also an opportunity to modernize the European economy and insure the sustainable development of the member countries. In this context, the aim of the current paper is to analyze the potential of using photovoltaic panels to power the water pumps utilized in both agriculture and supply of households in Romania and what the resulting impact would be from the ecological standpoint, as well as the economic and social one. The impact assessment follows the guideline proposed by the European House Ambrosetti latest publication regarding the socioeconomic impacts of the energy transition in Europe, but proposes a granular approach rather than a global one. The literature review of the existing publications presents an overview of the conclusions reached so far regarding water pumps powered by photovoltaic energy used for different purposes, such as the environmental and economic benefits of heat pump water heaters which are powered by photovoltaic energy or the performance comparison between photovoltaic heating systems and traditional ones. The current paper has the purpose of answering whether the utilization of photovoltaic powered water pumps in agriculture in Romania could bring economic and ecological benefits which would outweigh the costs and also, if this is the case, if there are also social benefits to be considered which would result in the use of this technology for households as well. The conclusions reach through this paper show the benefits of using the above mentioned technology for industrial purposes and its alternative potential for households. The contribution is to both the research field of renewable energy and its uses and to the policymakers to encourage investment in this direction.