Optimization of Standalone Photovoltaic Drip Irrigation System: A Simulation Study

Abstract

This paper presents the optimal design of a photovoltaic (PV) drip irrigation system. Designing a PV system is based on calculated motor power, solar irradiance level and other meteorological parameters at a certain geographical location. Therefore, a simulation study of the designed PV system were performed by a PVGIS simulation tool. The PVGIS simulation tool analyzes the potential of power generation with optimal PV modules tilt angle and orientation on a monthly and annual basis, and an analysis of the overall shading situation (horizon) as well as the internal shading between the PV module rows. The selection of water pump and motor depends upon the depth of water table and desired discharge and head to operate the irrigation system. Furthermore, a locally developed Solar-Drip Simulation Tool (SoSiT) was used for load and supply optimization. Based on ambient temperature, solar irradiation and water requirements, SoSiT calculates net generation by a PV system and resultant water output of the irrigation system. The particular drip irrigation site has two zones; the maximum water requirement for zone 1 (row crop) is 50,918.40 Liters/day and for zone 2 (orchards) is 56,908.80 L/day. From PVGIS simulation results, the maximum daily energy production of the designed PV system was 6.48 kWh and monthly energy production was 201 kWh in the month of May. SoSiT results showed that the PV system fulfilled the required crop requirement by only using 28% of the potential water supply, and 72% of the potential water supply from a solar-powered pump was not used. This value is high, and it is recommended to grow more or different crops to utilize the fuel-free electricity from the PV system. The unit cost of PV-powered drip irrigation is USD 0.1013/kWh, which is 4.74% and 66.26% lower than the cost of subsidized electricity and diesel, respectively.

Technical modelling of solar photovoltaic water pumping system and evaluation of system performance and their socio-economic impact

“…SoSiT [ 47 ] simulation tool incorporates the features of a PVSyst [ 61 ] that facilitates in the designing of a solar photovoltaic WPS and demonstrates how various factors influence the system performance, and CropWat [ 62 ] evaluates crop water requirements, that are crucial for irrigation. SoSit simulation tool is based on one-year hourly analysis (8760.0 h).…”

“…The environmental advantages are nearly zero pollutant emissions, no fuel requirements, and low noise. Furthermore, the cost of SPVWPS is much lower and shorter payback period [ 46 , 47 ]. The assessment of different types of power converters that are utilized in solar PV water pumping system have been examined in References [ [48] , [49] , [50] ].…”

“…The function of soft computing methodologies for modelling the photovoltaic systems with software like PVSyst, PVGIS, PV Sol, etc., from which the optimal PV system for water pumping system can be chosen have been discussed in Reference [ [51] , [52] , [53] ]. The designing, simulation modelling and performance analysis of SPVWP systems have been discussed in References [ 47 , 54 ]. The comparative analysis of the PVSyst simulation software with other simulation software for photovoltaic system is shown in the Table 1 .…”

Modeling, Simulation, and Experimental Analysis of a Photovoltaic and Biogas Hybrid Renewable Energy System for Electrification of Rural Community

“…[34] The shading impacts of buildings, high voltage power transmission line poles as well conductors between them must be considered to prevent the effect of hot spot and make the optimum usage of the accessible space. [33] Several developed and developing countries plan to shift to photovoltaic energy to encounter the energy needs of their increasing populations [35,36] and enhance the efficiency of their national utility networks. [37,38] Bioenergy refers to electricity, gases, heat, and fuel for vehicles produced from biomass resources.…”

Investigation of dust pollutants and the impact of suspended particulate matter on the performance of photovoltaic systems

“…Crystalline silicon solar cells have a current efficiency record of 26.7%, against an intrinsic limit of 29% (Andreani et al, 2019). Many developing and developed countries are planning to shift to renewable energy resources to meet the energy demands of growing populations and improve the operation of national utility grids (Tamoor et al, 2020;Tamoor et al, 2021;Miran et al, 2022;. However, the performance of all types of photovoltaic modules is affected by a large number of environmental factors (air temperature, wind speed, the angle of incident irradiation, solar radiation intensity, solar radiation spectrum, air pollution, snow, aging, dirt, and shadows) (Hassan et al, 2016;Kazem et al, 2017;Chaichan and Kazem, 2018).…”