Design, Simulation and Analysis of Photovoltaic Water Pumping System for Irrigation of a Potato Farm at Gerenbo

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Date

2016-10

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Addis Ababa University

Abstract

In locations where electricity is unavailable, other means are necessary to pump water for crop irrigation. Using diesel pump to deliver water to the place of use causes problems both in terms of productivity and environmental perspectives. Higher price of diesel increases operation costs of diesel water pumping system thereby reducing the incomes. In addition the use of diesel pump emits a considerable amount of CO2 which cause global warming. A possible solution to these problems is use solar energy, which is environmentally friend and available for free. This paper presents design, simulation and analysis of photovoltaic water pumping system for irrigation of a potato farm located at a place named Gerenbo in Gurage zone. The system was designed, considering the site’s topography and local metrological data. The PV system designing was made in such a way that, capable of irrigating a ha area potato farm with daily water requirement of 7m3 and total dynamic head of 21m. To run simulations, different tools have been used. These includes CROPWAT to determine water requirements of the crop; MATlab to simulate I-V and P-V characteristics of the selected module, HOMER make economic and environmental analysis by comparing diesel water pumping system. Furthermore, after sizing all components and sub-systems, the entire system (from solar radiation to water production) was simulated using PVsyst software. Results showed that the amount of water pumped is greater than user’s water need. The economic aspects of PV water pumping systems have been investigated. Indicators of the initial investment cost (IIC) and life cycle cost (LCC) were used to compare with diesel powered water pumping system. All of the cost comparisons show that PV water pumping system is more cost effective than diesel water pumping system. The environmental advantages of using PV water pumping systems are analyzed in terms of CO2 emissions reduction. Replacement of diesel powered water pumping system results in annual reduction of CO2 emissions by 1500kg. Keywords: Photovoltaic, water pumping system, system simulation, diesel engine, storages medium, irrigation, economic analysis, reduction in CO2 emissions

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Keywords

Photovoltaic; water pumping system; system simulation; diesel engine; storages medium; irrigation; economic analysis; reduction in CO2 emissions

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