Feasibility Study of Solar PV Powered Water Pumping and Distribution System - A Case Study of Academic Campus

Solar photovoltaic powered water pumping system is one of the best options to utilize the solar energy to pump water from underground sources. Basaveshwar Engineering College, Bagalkot, Karnataka, India has wide water distribution network with 93 acres of academic campus. A part of the pumping system is powered by 2 HP solar water pump and rest part of the pumping and distribution system is operated on grid supply. It is proposed to employ SPV power pumping for the entire BEC campus water supply network. Campus is presently operated with grid connected 10 HP, 7.5 HP and 1 HP submersible pumps, with 12 storage tanks located in prime locations of the campus. These pumps operate approximately 5 hours in weekdays and leads to 68 kWh consumption per day. The key objective of the proposed work is to verify the feasibility of SPV powered water pumping and distribution system for entire BEC campus. BEC water flow network is drawn and represented for the employment of SPV powered water pumping. Further, to address the energy issue six configurations of SPV pumps, their probable locations and newly proposed storage facilities are suggested. The pump capacities were selected based on the hydraulic field conditions and the solar radiation available at the site. For all the configurations, optimal pump size is assessed and economic viability analysis is carried out. Technical and economic study for proposed solar photovoltaic powered water pumping system configurations is presented. Life cycle cost analysis is carried out for economic comparison between solar photovoltaic powered pumping system and the existing grid connected pumping system. Results of comparative analysis are encouraging the use of the SPV powered system for water pumping. Solar water pumping is found to be economically viable in comparison to electricity for water pumping to the campus. Different combinations resulted with initial investment in the range of INR 9.8 lakhs to 11.7 lakhs. Further, the payback period for the combinations were in the range of 8-9 years.