CONCLUSIONS

 Agricultural production in Florida is very energy intensive. Be-
cause of this, the need to investigate means of countering the rising

costs of energy are paramount. It appears that the solution to the
problem rests in either altering production practices to utilize less
energy with greater efficiency or finding alternative sources of energy
which can be used in agricultural production activities. In .:egards to
the latter possibility, the results of this analysis have shown photo-
voltaic systems to have considerable promise as a means of providing
electricity to power irrigation systems.
 The feasibility of utilizing photovoltaic systems for such purposes
does not rest on the development of technology which can produce electri-
city from sunlight. Adequate technology already exists. The results of
the simulations have shown that the cost of producing these systems has
a significant effect on when photovoltaic systems will be economically
feasible. If commercial production of photovoltaic systems results in
a rapid decline in cost, these systems will be economically feasible in
the mid- to late 1980s. Tf however, commercial production is slow to
develop or the cost of photovoltaic systems declines slowly, economic
feasibility is not likely until the mid- to late 1980s.
 The cost of such systems is only one factor which will have an
effect on when photovoltaic powered irrigation systems will be economi-
cally viable. Institutional factors such as the buy-back ratio also have
been shown to have a significant impact on when these systems will be
economically viable. Decisions as to what rates utilities must pay for
electricity generated and sold by small decentralized producers can
change the first year of economic feasibility by as much as seven years.

 The analysis presented here i not to be construed as definitive
in concluding that the use of Elhtovoltaic arrays to power irrigation
systems is a future certaiti: The promise of these systems, based
on the preceding results, is considerable. However, energy costs and
technological impediments may prevent photovoltaic irrigation systems,
or even irrigation as a cultivation practice, from being justified as
a sound economic practice in agricultural production,