Design and Simulation of a Solar Photovoltaic Water Pumping System for Agricultural Irrigation Applications in Libya

Abstract

This paper presents a study of the use of a solar PV water pumping system (SPVWPS) in Tripoli. This system is applied to a medium farm located in the Ayn Zara municipality (Wady Al-Rabey), which has an average water consumption of 41.5m3 /day. This study provides detailed system sizing. The system’s sizing has been carried out using PVSyst software. A deep well of 80 m depth needs a 3.4 kW pump, 4 kW MPPT-DC converter, and 4.4 kW PV array. The type of the pumping system was direct coupling. PVSyst simulation results show that this system can provide 96% of the water needed during the year. The results showed that the costs of the solar water pumping system are lower compared to conventional systems, especially the diesel generator pumping system. It was obvious that SPVWPS is very suitable and recommended in sunny spots like Libya.