Energetic and economic sensitivity analysis for photovoltaic water pumping systems

Abstract

Costly battery energy storage are used in photovoltaic water pumping systems to ensure the power supply continuity and the system autonomy. However, the question of designing an optimum, economic and reliable system has not been fully answered. This research work proposes a smart sizing approach of a photovoltaic water pumping system components destined to Tomatoes irrigation. The system elements sizes namely the photovoltaic modules’ surface, the battery bank capacity and the reservoir volume, are designed to save energy generated in excess, supply the water pump and ensure the system autonomy. Fluctuations occurrence, number of successive cloudy days and energetic losses are taken into account when designing. A theoretical analysis was carried out to assess the relation between the photovoltaic modules surface, the battery bank capacity and the water volume needed for the crops irrigation during the crops’ vegetative cycle (from March to July). Additionally, the sizing algorithm results have been validated using PVsyst tool, which shows the efficiency of the obtained sizing. The economic sensitivity analysis for these water pumping systems in three countries, which are Tunisia, Spain and Qatar showed that photovoltaic-batteries/pump system shows that these systems are reliable and economic for both developing and developed countries.