| Work Detail |
Jordanian scientists have designed a system that combines solar panels, wind turbines and battery storage to power water pumping systems in Jordan. They simulated it in various scenarios in search of the optimal size.
Researchers at Isra University in Jordan have studied the feasibility of a solar and wind-powered water pumping system. In the Jordanian desert, scarcity of surface water forces communities to rely on underground sources for agricultural irrigation, livestock watering and residential use. Most autonomous water pumping systems (WPS) in the region are currently powered by combustion engines.
“Determining the feasibility of various hybrid renewable energy systems to power these systems is an important step that can yield significant technical and economic benefits,” the team says. “Moreover, no special research has been conducted to assess the feasibility of integrating fully hybrid renewable energy systems into Jordan’s WPS in desert-isolated and arid areas.”
The case study focused on the consumption of the Al-Mudawwara WPS. Al-Mudawwara is a small town in eastern Jordan, close to the border with Saudi Arabia. The temperature ranges from 4°C to 36.7°C all year round, and the average monthly solar radiation ranges from 3.79 kWh/m2/day in December to 8.54 kWh/m2/day in June. The average monthly wind speed varies from 6.29 m/s in October to 9.15 m/s in June.
The WPS is currently running on diesel fuel, with a daily demand of 40.71 kWh and a peak of 8.48 kW. To evaluate it, a HERS was simulated in the HOMER software under different scenarios. The first scenario included a diesel generator (DG) with a storage battery (SB), the second included PV and SB, the third combined PV, DG and SB, and the fourth included a wind turbine (WT), DG and SB. In the last scenario, PV, DG and SB were used.
In all scenarios, the photovoltaic system was monocrystalline, 315 W, and had an efficiency of 19%. The nominal power of the wind turbine was 10,000 W, and the batteries had a capacity of 3,000 Ah. The inverter system had a nominal power of 5 kW, with a 12.5 kW alternator. The system was optimized to determine the lowest cost per kilowatt-hour of energy produced.
The optimal system included 33 solar panels, totaling 10.18 kW, a 10 kW WT, eight batteries and three inverters.
“The cost of energy (CoE) of this system is $0.241/kWh, its payback period is 6.67 years, and its net present cost (NPC) is $59.611. The application of the selected scenario led to the elimination of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including carbon dioxide. The nominal discount rate of 6.5% is suitable for reducing the NPC and CoE, according to the sensitivity analysis. The obtained CoE is within the typical range for the MENA region. In addition, the unit CoE produced by HRES of $0.241/kWh is within the average range.”
They presented their results in “ A feasibility study of combining solar/wind energy to power a water pumping system in Jordans Desert/Al-Mudawwara village,” recently published in Environmental and Sustainability Indicators . |
