The document presents an economic comparison of solar PV and diesel water pumping systems in Pipalda Kalan village in India. It analyzes the life cycle costs of a 5 hp solar PV pump and a 5 hp diesel pump over 20 years. Various economic parameters such as net present worth, benefit-cost ratio, internal rate of return, and payback period are calculated and compared for the two systems. The results show that the solar PV water pumping system has lower life cycle costs and is more economically feasible than the diesel-operated pump system for this application.

1. IEEE Bombay Section/Madhya Pradesh Sub-Section
Economic Comparison of Solar PV and Diesel Water
Pumping System
Gitika Dadhich
Department of Renewable Energy
Rajasthan Technical University
Kota, India
gitika.dadhich@gmail.com
Vivek Shrivastava
Department of Electrical Engineering
Rajasthan Technical University
Kota, India
shvivek@gmail.com
Abstract— In today’s scenario feasibility of a system is of
utmost importance to install it and get the desired output in a
more economic and better way. In this study investigation has
been done about the feasibility check of solar powered
irrigation practice followed in Pipalda Kalan a village in
Rajasthan near Kota. To run a submersible pump and supply
water to crop a photovoltaic based pump is used to utilize solar
energy as the basic source of it. Moreover, same rating pumps
of 5 hp of solar as well as diesel have been considered for the
economic analysis. Various parameters like benefit cost ratio,
net present worth and internal rate of return are considered for
the economic analysis and comparison of the two system. The
comparison shows that the solar water pumping system was
more feasible than the diesel-operated pump.
Keywords- IRR, LCC, net present worth, photovoltaic pumping
system, renewable energy, solar energy
I. INTRODUCTION
India holds 314642.32 MW of the installed capacity
including both the central and state sectors updated till
31.1.2017. Different energy resources holds different shares in
electricity production as 59.9% of coal, 8.05% of gas, 0.266%
of Diesel, 1.83% of nuclear, 14.04% of hydro, and 15.89% by
the clean energy i.e. by the renewable one[1].
The contribution of fossil fuel in environment pollution is
increasing day-by-day and researchers are moving forward in
the favor of non-conventional energy sources all over the
world. So for power generation renewable sources such as
solar, wind, geothermal etc. are used. To deal with the
environmental problem and at the same time fulfill the demand
of energy firstly, available renewable energy resource is
focused on in a particular region and then a better way should
be find out to make them more economic and efficient.
Here two systems are taken for water pumping i.e. the
diesel and solar pumps. Life cycle cost (LCC) method is
chosen to compare these two systems to evaluate which one is
better option. Field study has been done for the two installed
pumps in a field and based on different economic parameters as
the maintenance and operation costs, fuel costs, salvage costs,
initial costs a comparison is done.
A vast comparative study has been done on economic
analysis of water pumping using various methods. Oparaku [2]
took a case study of rural areas of Nigeria and a comparison is
done of the three sources PV, diesel generator and grid utility
options on the basis of cost to supply power. Odeh et al. [3]
took system between 2.8 kWp to 15 kWp size to evaluate the
economic feasibility of PV and diesel water pumping systems
in Ireland.
A stand-by solar system was analysed for economic as well
as environmental issues in Nigeria by Offiong [4]. Schmid and
Hoffmann [5] took a study of PV-diesel hybrid systems in
Amazon region for the replacement of diesel irrigation pumps
by PV systems and did the economic study too.
A techno-economic assessment of water pump for
renewable energy systems was done by Purohit and Purohit [6].
Curtis [7] for forage production in the great Basin checked the
economic feasibility of PV irrigation system. Mahjoubi et al.
[8] analysed photovoltaic water pumping systems in Tunisia
region desert on the economic bases. Sako et al. [9] chosen
Cote d’ivoire and did a comparison of photovoltaic, diesel
generator and grid extension on economic bases.
Moreover, Kumar et.al. [10] presented an overall
investigation of PV powered water pumping system.
Simulation study has been done by developing
MATLAB/Simulink model of the complete system.
II. METHODOLOGY
A. Area considered
This case study is taken for a village Pipalda Kalan located
in Pipalda Tehsil of Kota district in Rajasthan, India. It is 4 km
away from sub-district headquarter Pipalda and 85 km from
Kota which is the district headquarter. The gram panchayat of
Pipalda Kalan village is Pipalda according to 2009 statistics
[11].
Total geographical area of the village is 512.77 hectares
and a population of 5,143 peoples. About 1,060 numbers of
houses are there in the village. Mangrol is the nearest town to
Pipalda Kalan village which is at a distance of 40 km from it
[11]. Fig. 1 is showing the map of the Pipalda Kalan village
which is nearby to Itawa.

2. Fig. 1. Google Map representing Pipalda Kalan Village [12].
B. Economic Terminologies
Following assumptions has been considered to analyze
both the systems on the economic basis as:
Operating life:
PV panels= 20 years.
Diesel engine= 10 years.
Maintenance cost:
PV system= 0.1 % of total capital cost per year.
Diesel engine= 10 % of total capital cost per year.
Sunshine hours available= 300 days in a year.
Price of 5 hp diesel engine= Rs. 24,000
Operating hours= 6 hr/day
Salvage value:
Diesel engine= 20 per cent of engine capital cost
The interest rate on capital= 10%
Inflation rate= 4% [13].
CO2 emission per liter of diesel= 2.7 kg [14].
1. Life cycle cost (LCC):
For a new system to be taken, life cycle cost is a key point
to be considered with the investment cost. Presently the
system’s ownership costs are much higher than the acquisition
cost. The LCC is the summation of all costs during the life time
of a system, both recurring (e.g. maintenance and operation)
and non-recurring (e.g. investment cost) [15].
Solar PV pumping system considered here is economically
evaluated through life cycle cost (LCC) analysis. The overall
LCC of a solar pumping system consists of its capital cost,
maintenance cost, replacement costs and operational cost. All
future costs are converted to present worth of the system
considering the relative rate of inflation and discount rate
before adding these above costs.
Analysis of Life cycle cost of the system can be done by
using:
LCC = CC + MC + FC+ RC – SC
where,
CC= Capital cost
MC= Maintenance cost
FC= Fuel cost
RC= Replacement cost
SC= Salvage value
2. Net Present Worth (NPW):
It shows the final value of all the expenses and revenues
done during the whole life, which is discounted back to the
starting of the investment. This is used to compare various
options [16].
N t
N N
N
N 1
B C
NPW
(1 i)
t B
1 (1
C
i)N (1 N
BNBN
1 (1
NCNBN
(1 N
i)i
where,
CN = Cost in each year
BN = Benefit in each year
N= 1, 2, 3................t
i = Interest rate
3. Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR):
It is the division of present worth of the benefits by the
present worth of the costs [17]. The value of BCR shows that
the system is economically feasible over the period of
operation [18].
N t
N
N 1
N t
N
N 1
B
BCR
C
t
t
1
N
N
1
t
N
N
B
1N 1
N
N
C
1
where,
CN = Cost in each year
BN = Benefit in each year
N= 1, 2, 3................t
i = Interest rate, %
4. Internal rate of return (IRR):
IRR equates the present value of inflows to the present
value of cash outflows i.e. the net present worth of the project
becomes zero [19].
LV
IRR = LR + × HR - LR
LV - HV
LV
× HR - LR
LV
× HR LR
LV
× HR - LR
LV HVLV - HVLV - HVLV HV
where,
IRR=internal rate of return
LR=lower rate
HR=higher rate
LV=NPW at lower rate
HV=NPW at higher rate

3. 5. Payback Period
It is that time when the NPV equals to zero. It indicates the
recovery time for the investment costs. Payback periods should
be shorter as they are more preferred [19].
C. PV Pump Specification
Sun is the utmost source of energy. Its energy is converted
into electric energy which is used to pump the water from
ground or deep well for the solar water pumping system [20].
A PV system is consists of different components wired
together known as balance of system which are as follows [21]:
PV cells: These are semiconductors based power
conversion units that transforms sunlight to electricity.
Collectively these units form a module which
enhances power output and more of these module
connection in parallel or series forms panel.
Storage medium: The converted electrical energy of
the cell is stored in battery bank and used at night or
when no energy is available.
Voltage regulator: Overcharging and over
discharging of the storage i.e. battery is managed and
prevented by voltage regulator which reverses current.
Inverter: The system gets the usable AC voltage
from inverter which converts the incoming low DC-
voltage to the AC one.
Loads: It can be AC or DC devices consuming the
power output of the system.
Fig. 2. Solar PV pumping system in the field for irrigation.
In Pipalda Kalan village of Kota district around 300 clear
sky days remains available all over the year. The economic
evaluation of PV based water pumping system is followed
from. [22] and [23]. The NPW and payback period has been
considered for economic assessment.
TABLE I. PV PANEL SPECIFICATIONS [24]
S.
No.
Specifications Values
1. Maximum Power (Pmax) 230V
2. Maximum Power Voltage (Vmp) 29V
3. Maximum Power(Imp) 7.39A
4. Short Circuit Current(Isc) 8.52A
5. Open Circuit Volt( Voc) 36V
6. Max System Voltage 1000V
TABLE II. PV WATER PUMPING SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS [25]
S.
No.
Specifications of Solar
Water Pump (WAREE)
Details
1. Pump Type Submersible
2. Domestic lighting system (DLS) Included
3. Static/ Manual/ Auto tracker With Auto tracker
4. AC/DC Type AC
5. Head 50 m
6. Base rate (in Rs. per set) 4,57,000/-
Fig. 2 shows the Solar PV pump installed in Pipalda used
for irrigation purpose in the field. Table I shows the technical
specifications of PV panel of 3000 Wp of WAREE Energies
Pvt. Ltd.. In Table II PV pump specifications are provided. In
the study SPV submersible pump with AC, DLS (domestic
lighting system) and an auto tracker is used.
D. Calculations for Diesel Pump:
A diesel pump of 5 hp is considered in the comparison
study.
The specific fuel consumption (sfc) of chosen diesel
pump = 0.251kg/kWh i.e. 0.301 lt/kWh
(Density of diesel taken = 0.832kg/lt)
Annual Fuel Cost = (sfc × capacity) × Fuel Price × No.
of operating total hrs per year
= (0.301lt/kWh × 3.73kW) × (54.9Rs/lt) ×
(6hrs/day × 300days/yr)
= 1,10,948 /-
i 2 S l PV i i h fi ld f i i i

4. Maintenance Cost per year = Depreciation rate ×
Capital Cost
= 0.1 × 24000
= 2,400/-
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A techno economic analysis has been done in the case
study of the village. Various parameters are considered for the
comparison of the two water pumping system for irrigation
that is the diesel and PV system.
Table III shows the parameters considered for comparison
of the two for the life cycle cost evaluation. The cost of PV
system initially is although higher than the diesel one but the
life cycle cost of the PV system is lower. The fuel and
replacement cost for solar pump is not there which is a
positive part of it and thus reduces the LCC.
TABLE III. LIFE CYCLE COST ANALYSIS COMPARISON OF THE TWO
SYSTEMS
S.
No.
Costs PV system
(Rs.)
Diesel Engine
(Rs.)
1. Capital Cost (CC) 4,57,000 24,000
2. Maintenance Cost (MC) 9,140 48,000
3. Fuel Cost (FC) - 22,18,960
4. Replacement Cost (RC) - 24,000
5. Total Cost 4,66,140 23,14,960
6. Salvage Cost (SC) 55,560.531 4,800
7. Life Cycle Cost (LCC) 4,10,579.469 23,10,160
Fig. 3 shows the graphical comparison of the two water
pumping system for the duration of 20 years. The first
comparative tab shows the variation among the LCC of them
and thus indicates the lower cost for PV system and the second
one show the comparative values for the Total Cost of the two.
Although the initial investment is higher for the SPV system
in comparison to the diesel system still it is at the positive side
of having lower total cost.
Fig. 3 Graphs showing total cost and LCC in 20 years.
Cash flow analysis of Solar PV pumping system
Cash flow analysis of solar pumping system of 3000Wp
irrigating an area of 2 ha is done in the work. The operating
days of the system is 300 per year and the pump works for 6
hrs per day i.e. a total of 1800 hrs per yr.
Table IV shows the different Cost analysis done for the
system:
TABLE IV. COST ANALYSIS OF SOLAR PUMPING SYSTEM
S.
No.
Cost Specification Cost
Details
1. Capital or the installed cost of the system Rs. 4,57,000
2. Overall Investments (A) Rs. 4,57,000
3. Power taken by the system Free of cost.
4. Maintenance cost which is 0.1% of (A) per yr Rs. 457
5. Land cost taken for per yr (Rs. 1000 per month) Rs. 12,000
6. (B) Cost of electricity generation which is the total of
Maintenance and land cost per yr
Rs.12,457
7. Cost of Diesel saved per year@ 54.9(Rs/lt) Rs. 1,10,948
Table V shows the Environment Benefit analysis done for the
system considering the CO2 emission and trading rate related
to it:
TABLE V. ENVIRONMENT BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF SOLAR PUMPING
SYSTEM
S.
No.
Parameters Values
1. CO2 Emission (1.125 lt/hr × 6 hr × 300days/yr ×
2.7kg CO2)
5.46 tons/yr
2. Carbon tax benefit @ 50 per ton(5.46 × 50) Rs. 273
3. Carbon trading rate per yr (24.16 $ per tons) = 24.16
× 64.46 × 5.46
(* 1 US $ = Rs. 64.46)
Rs. 8,503.150
4. Total Carbon Benefit (273 + 8503.150) Rs. 8,776.15
5. Total Profit (c) = 8776.15 + 110948 Rs. 1,19,724.15
6. Net annual saving (D) = C ‒ B Rs. 1,07,267.15
7. Net present worth (NPW) Rs. 456225.7
8. Benefit cost ratio 1.81
9. Payback period (A/D) 4.26
TABLE VI. CASH OUTFLOW FOR SOLAR PV PUMPING SYSTEM
Year
Cash
out
flow
(Rs.)
PW of cash
outflow
(Rs.)
Cash
inflow
(Rs.)
PW of cash
inflow
(Rs.)
NPW
(Rs.)
0 457000 457000 0 0 -457000
1 12457 11324.55 119724.15 108840.1 97515.59
2 12457 10295.04 119724.15 98945.58 88650.54
3 12457 9359.13 119724.15 89950.53 80591.4
4 12457 8508.3 119724.15 81773.21 73264.91
5 12457 7734.82 119724.15 74339.28 66604.46
6 12457 7031.65 119724.15 67581.16 60549.51
7 12457 6392.41 119724.15 61437.42 55045.01
8 12457 5811.28 119724.15 55852.2 50040.92
0
500000
1000000
1500000
2000000
2500000
Total Cost LCC
CostinRs.
PV Syst
Diesel Syst

5. 9 12457 5282.98 119724.15 50774.73 45491.75
10 12457 4802.71 119724.15 46158.84 41356.13
11 12457 4366.1 119724.15 41962.58 37596.48
12 12457 3969.18 119724.15 38147.8 34178.62
13 12457 3608.35 119724.15 34679.82 31071.47
14 12457 3280.32 119724.15 31527.11 28246.79
15 12457 2982.11 119724.15 28661.01 25678.9
16 12457 2711.01 119724.15 26055.46 23344.45
17 12457 2464.55 119724.15 23686.78 21222.23
18 12457 2240.5 119724.15 21533.44 19292.94
19 12457 2036.82 119724.15 19575.86 17539.04
20 12457 1851.65 119724.15 17796.23 15944.58
Total 706140 563053.5 2394483 1019279 456225.7
TABLE VII : INTERNAL RATE OF RETURN (IRR) FOR SOLAR PV WATER
PUMPING SYSTEM
23.10% Discount
Factor
23.11% Discount
Factor
Year
Cash
flow
(Rs.)
Discount
Factor
Present
Value
(Rs.)
Discount
Factor
Present
Value
(Rs.)
-457000 1 -457000 1 -457000
1 107267.2 0.8123 87133.11 0.8123 87133.11
2 107267.2 0.6599 70785.59 0.6598 70774.87
3 107267.2 0.5361 57505.92 0.5359 57484.47
4 107267.2 0.4355 46714.84 0.4353 46693.39
5 107267.2 0.3538 37951.12 0.3536 37929.66
6 107267.2 0.2874 30828.58 0.2872 30807.13
7 107267.2 0.2334 25036.15 0.2333 25025.43
8 107267.2 0.1896 20337.85 0.1895 20327.12
9 107267.2 0.1541 16529.87 0.1539 16508.41
10 107267.2 0.1251 13419.12 0.125 13408.39
11 107267.2 0.1017 10909.07 0.1016 10898.34
12 107267.2 0.0826 8860.267 0.0825 8849.54
13 107267.2 0.0671 7197.626 0.067 7186.899
14 107267.2 0.0545 5846.06 0.0544 5835.333
15 107267.2 0.0443 4751.935 0.0442 4741.208
16 107267.2 0.036 3861.617 0.0359 3850.891
17 107267.2 0.0292 3132.201 0.0292 3132.201
18 107267.2 0.0237 2542.231 0.0237 2542.231
19 107267.2 0.0193 2070.256 0.0192 2059.529
20 107267.2 0.0157 1684.094 0.0156 1673.368
NPW 97.5063 NPW -138.481
The cost analysis of the system is made by considering the
assumptions made in the starting. Payback period of 4.26 is
estimated which shows that investment is attained in PV water
pumping system in this duration is feasible. The benefit cost
ratio for this payback period is calculated as 1.81.
The IRR percentage should be high as it denotes good
returns thus here the internal rate of return for the SPV water
pumping system is obtained as 23.10413 percent for the two
discount rates taken as 23.10 as the lower rate and 23.11 as the
higher one for the calculations.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
Following conclusions were made from comparative study
of the two water pumping systems taken from the case study
of Pipalda Kalan village in Kota, Rajasthan. The Total cost
(TC) of PV system for a life span of 20 years was found as Rs.
4,66,140 and of the diesel engine was Rs. 23,14,960. The Life
cycle cost (LCC) of PV system was Rs. 4,10,579.469 which is
very less than the diesel engine which came out to be Rs.
23,10,160. Net present worth (NPW) of the system after 20
years was found to be Rs. 4,56,225.7 and internal rate of
return (IRR) was found as 23.10413%. Finally the benefit cost
ratio was found to be 1.81 with a payback period of 4.62
years. The overall comparison of the solar as well as the diesel
engine shows that PV water pumping system is quite feasible
than that of the diesel one.
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