Techno-economic analysis for stand alone solar water pumping system for farm irrigation; A case study in Sudan

Abstract

One of the critical problems currently being faced by the Sudanese transitional government is ensuring a sustainable economic and Agriculture contribute to 27% to the GDP and employing about 80% of the workforce. That is why irrigation plays a crucial role in the country development. This study intends to provide techno-economic analysis of stand-alone solar water pumping system and compare its performance and environmental impact with Diesel water pumping systems. The HOMER optimization software is used to evaluate both the environmental and the economic viability of the proposed pumping systems by taking into account the variations of both the solar radiation and diesel price. Although this master thesis has used a farm in Al-Ailfun district as a case study, solar water pumping technology can be applied for agricultural irrigation purposes for the rest of the country and all over the world especially in rural areas where access to electricity and fuel is difficult. implementing this technology would lead to higher incomes and better living conditions for farmers while improving agriculture output. Results have shown that implementing Photovoltaic systems for agricultural irrigation is more profitable when compared to diesel systems. The costs of producing one unit of energy by the PV system are lower than the diesel system. The HOMER results, in Sudan show that levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for solar and Diesel systems are 0.249 and 0.364 $/kWh respectively.