A techno-economic investigation for utilizing solar energy in irrigation of palm trees in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This paper presents a techno-economic investigation for utilizing photovoltaic solar energy in water pumping applications for the irrigation of Palm trees in the Qassim region in Saudi Arabia. The Analysis has been done by applying four technical indicators and three economic indicators on a real farm of palm trees. The investigation took into account the varied water demand for palm trees over the years, meteorological data of the region, the characteristics of the borehole, and the local market prices of PV system components. The investigation has been done using two options of PV systems: grid-connected system and standalone system. The results showed the superiority of the grid-connected system in spite of the unfair price of energy exchange with the utility grid. The results achieved are the Levelled cost of energy, which is in the range from 0.013 to 0.019 $/kWh. The standardized cost of produced water is in the range from 0.011 to 0.013 $/m3, and the simple payback time is in the range from 9.65 to 12.22 years. The results are considered to encourage farmers in the region to convert to solar energy utilization.