Comparative assessment of different solar tracking systems in the optimal management of PV-operated pumping stations

The integration of photovoltaic energy in pumping systems is complex, and the technical constraints of hydraulic and pumping systems must be considered. Exploitation models that link energy management with water management are necessary to ensure the profitability of these investments. This research proposes the design and application of a mathematical model for optimal hourly operation of pumping equipment at the minimum cost for a pumping station with different configurations of self-consumption photovoltaic generation for one week, subsequently extended to an entire year. The proposed optimization problem is formulated as a mixed-integer nonlinear model. Findings of this paper indicate that a self-consumption photovoltaic plant with single-axis solar tracking can increase production by 33.4% and reduce operating costs by 28.9% compared to a fixed system. Therefore, more energy is self-consumed (81.6%), and a more efficient pumping operation is achieved. The use of a two-axis tracker improves photovoltaic production by 3.2% with economic savings of 4.8% compared to a single-axis tracker, but this difference is small considering its higher investment costs and technical complexity. As a result, the single-axis solar tracker is generally used in pumping stations to achieve efficient management and reduced operating costs.