DFIM Based Energy Management in Irrigation Pump Systems Connected to Renewable Energy Sources

摘要

Throughout the agricultural sector, pumps are used for land irrigation to draw water from tube wells or open wells. These motor-pump irrigation units are economical as well as clean and can be driven by wide varieties of power units, but they are dependent on a source of power. The existing motor-pump units consist of squirrel cage induction motors (SCIM) directly coupled with pumps which can provide years of service when appropriately selected, operated and maintained. In remote locations, irrigation units are also powered by renewable energy sources (RES) (i.e., solar and wind powered water pumps), but those are intermittent power producers in nature. To handle this intermittent power supply, an efficient variable speed power unit is needed. In this study, Rotor Side Converter (RSC) based variable speed doubly-fed induction motor (DFIM) pump-irrigation unit is proposed. Both the units (that which is currently used and the one proposed) are tested experimentally for supply voltage variations. A case study for total hours of operation and power consumption is also illustrated for sugarcane production. The test results and subsequent analysis confer that variable speed DFIM units are a better option for irrigation systems connected to renewable energy sources, as they are capable of operating from a wide range of active power availability.