A new optimization approach for the use of hybrid renewable systems in the search of the zero net energy consumption in water irrigation systems

The search of the sustainability in the water system and the improvement of the different targets, which are included in the different sustainable development goals. It implies the water managers must define new strategies, which define the establishment of new investment and making-decision in this alignment. The new proposed approach proposes the use of hybrid renewable systems, which are optimized by two simulated annealing procedures included inside of the methodology. It is applied in a real irrigation network where there are pump stations. The methodology chooses the best location of the microhydropowers systems and the selection of the best machine between a database of 674 pump working as turbines defining the minimum area of photovoltaic systems to be feasible the hybrid renewable system by a techno-economical analysis. The applied optimization procedure reached an annual average self-consumption energy value above 0.9, showing an annual positive energy balance of 283 MWh, using renewable energies and they could be sold to the grid. The environmental analysis shows both an annual reduction of 2838 tones of CO2 emissions and 553 MWh generated using non-renewable energies.