Abstract
In developing countries like Ethiopia, Pumping water for domestic use, livestock drinking and farming activities is becoming common practice particularly in water deficit arid and semi-arid areas. However, diesel based water pumping motors, which predominantly adopted so far, were identified to have limitation in improving communities life due to its’ unreliability and high diesel cost, and at the same times contributing to environmental pollution by emitting greenhouse gas. While the government and development partners were exerting significant efforts to convert the diesel engines with solar pumping technologies.
There are limited studies on the viabilities and reliability of such cost-wise, applicable and clean energy source technologies. This study, therefore, aimed to evaluate the viability and reliability of solar water pumping system and its emission reduction potential in rural off-grid kebeles of Abaya District, West Guji Zone of Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. From the total population, survey was conducted with a semi-structured questionnaire for 188 households that were randomly selected from five rural kebeles which were selected purposively. Due to technology based social research a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches is applied. Both quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches were employed. The results derived from questionnaires were analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences of descriptive statistics and qualitative data mainly from key informant interviews were analyzed through intensive textual analysis. In addition, the economic comparison of solar water pumping system with the most likely conventional alternative diesel powered system has been analyzed through sensitivity analysis using a life-cycle cost analysis approach. Moreover, the potential contribution of solar water pump towards emission reduction was determined. The result shows that solar photovoltaic water pumping system supplies reliable and adequate water to the community. The life cycle cost analysis clearly shows that photovoltaic water pumping systems was economically viability and attractive alternative than diesel water pumping systems with average total life-cycle cost of 112,000 US$ for photovoltaic water pumping systems compare to 191,000 US$ for diesel water pumping systems. The sensitivity analysis clearly shows that using diesel water pumping system was the worst alternative from an economical point of view. Results further show that, in the study area about, 41,000 tons of CO2 can be eliminated by replacing diesel pumping system with solar photovoltaic pumping system per 25 years of operation. Finally, the results of all three analyses indicate that using solar energy for water pumping was viable, reliable and promising alternative over other conventional pumping systems; it avoids fluctuations in the availability of water and cost of diesel fuel, and CO2 emissions and pollution. Comprehensive effort from the Government as well as from all the stakeholders is required for further development of solar water pumping system throughout the rural locations with limited access to conventional electricity.
Keywords: Economic Viability, life-cycle cost, Photovoltaic, Sensitivity Analysis.