Economics Analysis of Diesel and Solar Water Pumping with Case Study Water Pumping for Irrigation in Egypt

In rural and undeveloped areas where there is no power grid and more water is needed for agriculture purposes and human uses, the choices for driving water pumps are usually solar via photovoltaic or a fuel driven engine, usually diesel. There are very distinct differences between the two power sources in terms of cost and reliability. The present paper presents an economic analysis of diesel and PV water pumping systems for irrigation purposes at Cairo, Egypt (Lat. 30° 2' 38" North, Long. 31° 14' 9" East). According to the location parameters, the required water demand, unit cost of different components and fuel cost, the study uses the HOMOR software and theoretical equations governing the photovoltaic operation to get the optimal system design and the related economic analysis. The study considered three systems for water pumping; PV only, hybrid PV-Diesel and Diesel only. The study showed the advantages of use photovoltaic energy over that of the diesel generator in terms of the net present cost and the cost of energy. It also concluded that diesel pumps are typically characterized by a lower capital cost but a very high operation and maintenance cost. Solar is the opposite, with a considerably higher capital cost but very low ongoing operation and maintenance costs.