Development and simulation of a solar power system utilizing PV SYST software

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Agricultural Products Process Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.

2 Agricultural Engineering Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Cairo, Egypt.

Abstract

The abundance of solar energy always coexists with the scarcity of other energy sources and clean water, such as in desert areas. Research articles published in peer-reviewed journals that address the design and simulation of water pumping systems using PV SYST software are in short supply. Therefore, this study was conducted to design and simulate a 101.4 kW PV underground water pumping system using PV SYST software, with the aim of supplying a farm facing water and energy resource shortages with the necessary water for agricultural facilities and the farming process. Additionally, by simulating the system for a full year using the PV SYST, gathered information about the system's losses, inappropriate components, and design errors. By addressing these issues before installation, time, effort, and resources can be saved. The effective solar radiation value on the collector plane was 2145 kWh/m2, whereas the nominal power was 461.46 kWh/m2. This shows the efficiency of the array, which was 21.5% under standard test conditions (STC). The nominal energy of the array was 217810 kWh, whereas the hydraulic energy was 120274 kWh. This difference is due to losses, the most important of which are array losses owing to high temperatures at a rate of 9.83% and converter losses during operation at a rate of 3.21%. The pump's operating electrical energy was 165414 kWh, and its hydraulic energy was 120274 kWh, resulting in a pump efficiency of 72.7 %. The pumped water volume reached 370570 m3/year, while the water requirement was 370475 m3/year, indicating that the system was able to meet the water requirements. The performance ratio was 74.1%, which is deemed satisfactory. This signifies the validity of the design and the dependability of the PV-powered water pumping system.

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