A Case Study of Grid Connected Solar PV Irrigation System in Semi-Arid Region of Bangladesh

Abstract

The semi-arid region of Bangladesh is called the Barind tract lies roughly between latitudes 24°20´N and 25°35´N and longitudes 88°20´E and 89°30´E and covered an area of 7728 km 2. This region has already been designated as drought prone. So this region experiences extremes that are clearly in contrast to the climatic condition of the rest of the country. To combat the extreme conditions of climate for sustainable agricultural development a special authority has been formed named 'Barind Multipurpose Development Authority' (BMDA). Under the BMDA activities an irrigation project has been launched since decades. Under this project irrigation facilities are provided for agricultural cultivation at this semi arid region. The total number of deep tube well installed so far under the BMDA irrigation project is 11,967 and the total demand of electricity is 277 MW. The project experiences frequent grid power outage, including low-voltage problems and load shedding, and encourages off-peak hour irrigation (after 11:00 pm). To overcome this problem a grid connected solar PV system is proposed in the Barind tract. A techno-economic feasibility analysis is done for 500 kW grid connected solar photovoltaic (PV) system for this location. HOMER and RETScreen computer tools and monthly average solar radiation data from NASA is used in this study. The unit electricity production cost is found to be 14.51 BDT (Bangladeshi Taka) based on project lifetime 20 years and 10% discount rate. Considering the selling price of electricity 10 BDT/kWh with 5% escalation rate annually to the grid, the IRR, equity payback and benefit-cost ratio are found to be around 5.6%, 13.1 years and 0.68 respectively without considering any clean energy facilities. The total annual greenhouse gas reduction is estimated to be 658 tons for 500 kW grid system.