Water supply with photovoltaic systems: imported pumping systems and systems with frequency converters and national pumps

• Grant number: 07/03478-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: October 01, 2007
• End date: September 30, 2010
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agricultural Engineering - Rural Energization
• Principal Investigator: Fernando Selles Ribeiro
• Grantee: Maria Cristina Fedrizzi
• Host Institution: Instituto de Eletrotécnica e Energia (IEE). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In Brazil there are more than 3.500 photovoltaic pumping systems installed, most of then in rural communities located in remote areas without access of conventional electric grid. Despite of so many systems installed most of then are not working mainly due the difficulties to maintenance and change failed parts or total equipments. The situation is even worst because the pumps and the power conditioning system are imported and it means high costs and difficulties to keep the systems working rightly. From these boundary conditions, the project general objective is the evaluation of a new configuration that shift imported systems by national pumps and variable speed drive to run photovoltaic pumping systems, specially in case of a small farms activities: clean water to agri-business, small irrigation and water supply for domestic animals. Besides the technical evaluation, the project will do an economic and financial analysis of the situation find in the field.