Study on a Solar Photovoltaic driven Irrigation System in Ethiopia

Master's Thesis from the year 2020 in the subject Engineering - Power Engineering, grade: 90, , language: English, abstract: This study presents the design and simulation of a solar PV driven irrigation system to irrigate 10-hectare farm located at Ethiopia, Debre Markos, Wonka site. The design phase was considered based on the parameters such as pump power rating, solar PV sizing, running hours, designing and selecting an inverter. The sizing process starts with collecting data and determining correct estimation of water needs in the targeted site. The system can provide a daily average of 41 m3 of water for irrigation. Considering one cloudy day, the system is designed to pump 82 m3 water/day. Batteries are not considered because they reduce the overall efficiency of the system and increase all over maintenance and investment cost. Instead of storing electricity in batteries, Circular water storage tank was designed to store 82 m3 water for two days application. The system consists of solar array, boost converter, three-phase inverter and 3.3-kW rating induction motor along with a centrifugal pump. Based on the motor rating, the solar panel rating is decided to be 7.6 kW considering losses in the system.