Agricultural Sector Adoption of PEI Pumps Market Study

This project involves a market study for the agricultural sector adoption of PEI-rated pumps in California. California agriculture irrigates more than 9 million acres using roughly 34 million acre-feet (MAF) of water typically diverted from surface waters or pumped from groundwater and consumes 8.8 TWh of electricity from the grid in a normal hydrological year. According to USDA 2008 and 2018 data, the percentage of fossil fuel pumps did not change significantly over the 10 years between surveys (10.6% in 2008, and 10.4% in 2018). This trend may be evidence of hesitancy in the California agricultural sector to adopt newer efficient electric pumps. Although electric pumps are associated with lower energy and maintenance costs, the survey did not collect data on the efficiency, age, or condition of existing electric pumps. Therefore, while replacing all fossil fuel pumps is estimated to avoid 117,000 MTCO2e emissions annually, the benefits of ensuring that all pumps meet the newest efficiency standards would be much higher. National standards implemented in 2020 require all clean water pumps sold to have a Pump Energy Index (PEI) rating of ≤ 1.0, but market knowledge of how these standards correlate to lifecycle costs is less understood. Educating facility operators on these savings may help motivate those still hesitant to adopt more efficient pumps. The USDA 2018 survey also collected some data on the barriers farmers are facing to make improvements to reduce energy use or conserve water. 27% responded that they could not afford the improvements, and 24% said the improvements would not reduce costs enough to justify the installation costs. Programs like the State Water Efficiency & Enhancement Program (SWEEP) (2014-2023) helped to fund some improvement projects. Unfortunately, due to current budget uncertainties, CDFA is pausing the current SWEEP Direct-to-Producer solicitation. Further study on these financial barriers would be valuable to contextualize the lifecycle savings potential of PEI pumps.This study will serve to provide additional context as to how PEI-rated pumps can play a role in electrification, decarbonization and reducing energy usage within California. This market study of advanced pumping systems for agricultural irrigation will provide valuable information concerning customer hesitancy to adopt more efficient systems. It will also assess awareness of the Pump Energy Index (PEI) and help customers understand the cost savings potential of PEI pumps. The study will include the following: 1) identify causes of the hesitancy  for adopting new efficient pumps 2) assess market knowledge of the PEI and savings potential of PEI pumps, 3) quantify lifecycle cost savings of PEI pumps, and 4) recommend utility interventions to support market adoption.