Monitoring and Evaluation of PV Pumping System Performance Installed in The Algeria’s Sahara City of Adrar

Abstract

The Sunbelt area like Algeria, specially the Saharan medium by its arid nature and the availability of huge solar irradiance can be a good choice of the application of the photovoltaic (PV) system. Water pumping by PV system for irrigation purposes can be considered as one of the basic needs in the rural areas of Algeria. PV modules are given a power rating at standard test conditions (STC) of 1000W/m 2 , AM1.5 and a module temperature 25°C, but these conditions do not represent what is typically experienced under outdoor operation. To improve the performances of such type of systems, a study based on outdoor experimental tests is necessary, to establish how much energy is produced and the major parameters that most influence on their quality. The main objective of this paper is to review the state of the art of PV systems in the Adrar Desert of Algeria by the analysis of the operational data of the PV installation. Sophisticated Verification method so called SV method has been used to evaluate a PV pumping system performance during seven months. Differences between real and installed energy of up to 18% have been detected. It has been observed that the high output gain due to the operating condition in an extreme low module temperature. On the basis of these monitoring results, the performance of PV systems is compared to the measured performance of residential PV systems installed in other countries. The results indicated that the motor-pump efficiency changed by the pumping head.

An experimental comparison of meter calibration used in a photovoltaic water pumping system installed in an arid environment

“…The review of the PVWPS installed in the Algerian desert was presented by Yaichi et al in [27]. Based on the monitoring results obtained during a test of seven months, the system's performance was compared to the performance of other systems implemented in other countries.…”

Low complexity SVM technique of control implementation by microcontroller for three phase solar inverter

“…[3][4][5][6][7] Our desert region in southern Algeria is characterized by a greater solar field. 8,9 So, in this study the solar energy is chosen as source of electricity generation, where the solar energy is converted continuously into electrical energy through the PV panels; this energy can be used directly for DC loads or by using DC/AC inverters for alternative loads. [10][11][12][13] The PV power is used in different fields and applications, the PV pumping system is one of those successful applications.…”