Abstract
Energy and water are the two major need of the globe which need to be addressed for the sustenance of the human beings on this planet. All the nations, no matter most populous, developed and developing need to diversify the means and ways of producing energy and at the same time guarding the environment. This study aims at techno economical feasibility of producing energy using PV solar panels and utilizing it to pump-water at Dhahran, Riyadh, Jeddah, Guriat, and Nejran regions in Saudi Arabia. The solar radiation data from these stations was used to generate electricity using PV panels of 9.99 kW total capacity. Nejran region was found to be most economical in terms of minimal payback period and cost of energy and maximum internal rate of return whereas PV power production was concerned. Water-pumping capacity of the solar PV energy system was calculated at five locations based on the PV power production and Goulds model 45J series of pumps. Monthly total and annual total water pumping capacities were determined. Considering the capital cost of combined solar PV energy system and the pump unit a cost analysis of water pumping for a well of 50 m total dynamic head (TDH) was carried out. The cost of water pumping was found to vary between 2 and 3 <svg style="vertical-align:-0.20473pt;width:28.85px;" id="M1" height="11.6875" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 28.85 11.6875" width="28.85" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"> <g transform="matrix(.017,0,0,-.017,.062,11.363)"><path id="x55" d="M716 650v-28q-46 -3 -65 -15.5t-22 -43.5q-6 -54 -6 -162v-82q0 -184 -75 -264q-68 -69 -180 -69q-98 0 -160 48q-88 67 -88 238v249q0 66 -13.5 81t-73.5 20v28h258v-28q-59 -4 -72.5 -19t-13.5 -82v-227q0 -122 48 -188t140 -66q189 0 189 286v75q0 111 -7 165
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Highlights
Solar energy is a clean source of energy, and it does not risk human lives, environment, and economic disasters which may include oil and coal sludge spills, coal mine and devastating gas pipeline explosions, unforeseen nuclear accidents, and water supply contamination from natural gas fracking
In Saudi Arabia, the work has been reported on various aspects of solar energy such as radiation data prediction and estimation [30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37], photovoltaic-based cost of solar energy by generation Rehman et al [38], availability of solar radiation and sunshine duration by Aksakal and Rehman [39], photovoltaic electricity for irrigation Rehman et al [40] desert camping Al-Ali et al [41], and solar radiation and sunshine duration maps by Mohandes and Rehman [42]
(ii) The Nejran site was found to be most economical in terms of minimal payback period and cost of energy and maximum internal rate of return
Summary
Solar energy is a clean source of energy, and it does not risk human lives, environment, and economic disasters which may include oil and coal sludge spills, coal mine and devastating gas pipeline explosions, unforeseen nuclear accidents, and water supply contamination from natural gas fracking. Still there are remote areas and smaller cities and towns which are not yet connected to national electricity grid and are dependent on power supply from diesel generating power stations and have isolated grids Some of these dwellings are located in mountainous region where it is difficult to lay the grid and economically prohibitive. PV-powered water-pumping systems have been installed and are operational in various parts of the globe including Arabian countries, and some of these installation dates back to early 1990s Some of these studies and installations have been reported in the literature like Bhave [20] for India, Alawaji et al [21] for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Hammad [22] for Jordan, Al Suleimani and Rao [23]. In Saudi Arabia, the work has been reported on various aspects of solar energy such as radiation data prediction and estimation [30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37], photovoltaic-based cost of solar energy by generation Rehman et al [38], availability of solar radiation and sunshine duration by Aksakal and Rehman [39], photovoltaic electricity for irrigation Rehman et al [40] desert camping Al-Ali et al [41], and solar radiation and sunshine duration maps by Mohandes and Rehman [42]
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