Performance Study of an Integrated Solar Water Supply System for Isolated Agricultural Areas in Thailand: A Case-Study of the Royal Initiative Project

Abstract

This article presents a field-performance investigation on an Integrated Solar Water Supply System (SWSS) at two isolated agricultural areas in Thailand. The two case-study villages (Pongluek and Bangkloy) have experienced severe draughts in recent decades, and, therefore, water supply has become a major issue. A stand-alone 15.36 kW solar power and a 15 kW solar submersible pump were installed along with the input power generated by solar panels supported by four solar trackers. The aim is to lift water at the static head of 64 and 48 m via a piping length of 400 m for each village to be stored in 1000 and 1800 m3 reservoirs at an average of 300 and 400 m3 per day, respectively, for Pongluek and Bangkloy villages. The case study results show that the real costs of electricity generated by SWSS using solar photovoltaic (PV) systems intergraded with the solar tracking system yield better performance and are more advantageous compared with the non-tracking system. This study illustrates how system integration has been employed. System design and commercially available simulation predictions are elaborated. Construction, installation, and field tests for SWSS are discussed and highlighted. Performances of the SWSS in different weather conditions, such as sunny, cloudy, and rainy days, were analysed to make valuable suggestions for higher efficiency of the integrated solar water supply systems.