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Techno-Economic Evaluation and Sizing Optimization of Solar-PV and Wind Energy Sources for Irrigation Water Pumping

The energy needed for irrigation water pumping systems can be conventionally obtained from the direct use of fuels (e.g. using diesel engines) or indirectly from the electrical sources. Despite the adverse environmental impact of the use of fuels, there is a limited availability of conventional energy sources in off-grid and remote locations. The transfer of fuel or the extension of the grid to these locations is usually uneconomical and faces some technical challenges. Therefore, the use of the naturally available abundant sources of energy is a possible feasible solution. These energy sources include the solar and wind energy sources. The continual availability of these energy sources is not the only benefit, but also their highly positive ecological impacts and the associated welfare due to the high degree of freedom in selecting appropriate locations for various crops. From an operational point of view, the solar and wind are classified as variable and intermittent energy source. These adverse characteristics are not of significant importance in supplying deferrable loads such as the irrigation pumping loads. In comparison with the non-deferrable loads, irrigation loads neither requires instantaneous energy balance nor mandatory energy storage. From the techno-economic point of view, this paper presents a comparative analysis of various renewable energy alternatives for irrigation water pumping systems. Three alternative electricity supplies are considered ; standalone solar-PV, standalone wind, and hybrid solar- PV/wind energy sources. The energy producing components of various sources are also optimized for maximization of the feasibility and effectiveness of the sources. The main outcome of the paper is the presentation of a framework for optimal sizing and selection of the renewable energy source(s) for deferrable loads. Although the results are highly dependent on the considered meteorological conditions, the presented formulation, sizing algorithm, and analysis approach are general regardless of these conditions.

Renewable energy; deferrable loads; irrigation water pumping; sizing optimization; techno-economic feasibility.

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