SIZING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A STANDALONE SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM FOR A THREE-PHASE SUBMERSIBLE PUMPING MACHINE CONSIDERING THE TECHNO-ECONOMICS PERSPECTIVES: A CASE OF SUPER FARM ILORIN

Abstract

<jats:p>The solar photovoltaic system is an alternative power supply source that could aid the economic growth of a nation. However, improper sizing of the system leads to a high installation cost and a low level of penetration in the energy mix. This paper focused on the appropriate sizing and implementation of a standalone solar system for a three-phase pump machine in a farm in Ilorin, Nigeria. The pump rating was determined manually as 20HP, with a flow rate of 180,000 L/h. Consequently, the daily load and solar global horizontal irradiance data were acquired and used for sizing the PV system using HOMER Pro software. Fifty-six solar panels with a total area of 120.4 m2 were proposed and installed to achieve a total power of 22.4 kW required for the machine's operation. The levelised cost of energy is 0.4007 $/kWh as against the cost of energy when the farm was running on generators with an energy cost of 4.170 $/kWh. The economic analysis of the system for the farm shows the NPC and COE of the system configuration are $28,341.91 and 0.4007 $/kWh, respectively.</jats:p>