Authors : Aminu Alhaji Abdulhamid; Jibrin Abdullahi

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 3 - March

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/4pn9sb3v

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/3zurepyu

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26mar039

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Abstract : Reliable electricity supply is essential for small-scale irrigation pumping systems that operate within narrow and time-sensitive windows. In Lafia, Nigeria, persistent grid unreliability has sustained heavy reliance on diesel generators for irrigation, exposing operators to high operating costs, fuel price volatility, and frequent service interruptions. This study presents a reliability-driven techno-economic assessment of an off-grid photovoltaic (PV)–battery system with diesel backup for small-scale irrigation pumping under local operating conditions. A representative irrigation load of 10 kWh/day, characterized by fixed morning (06:00–09:00) and evening (17:00–19:00) pumping windows, is evaluated under a zerounmet-load reliability constraint and benchmarked against a diesel-only generation alternative. System performance is assessed using technical and economic indicators including load served, renewable energy fraction, battery operation, generator runtime, fuel consumption, net present cost (NPC), and levelized cost of energy (LCOE). Results show that the hybrid PV–battery system fully serves the annual irrigation demand (≈3,650 kWh/yr) with near-zero unmet load and a renewable fraction of approximately 78%. Annual PV generation of about 4,750 kWh reduces generator operation to roughly 220 h/yr and fuel consumption to approximately 300 L/yr, compared with 1,460 h/yr and 1,460 L/yr for diesel-only supply. Over a 10-year lifetime, the hybrid system achieves a lower NPC (≈₦10.8 million) and LCOE (≈₦190/kWh) than diesel-only operation (≈₦18.6 million and ≈₦330/kWh). The findings demonstrate that reliability-oriented PV–battery systems offer a technically robust and economically viable alternative to diesel-only generation for small-scale irrigation in fuel-dependent off-grid environments.

Keywords : Off-Grid Energy Systems; Photovoltaic–Battery Systems; Irrigation Pumping; Reliability-Driven Design; Diesel Displacement; Techno-Economic Analysis.

References :

1. S. S. Bariki, E. I. Ezeatah, and Y. Ismail, “Effect of electricity supply on the viability of small-scale businesses in Gwagwalada, FCT Abuja,” SEAHI Publications, 2025. doi:10.5281/zenodo.17282831.
2. A. Meydani et al., “Scenario-driven decision support system for assessing water balance to support agricultural and ecosystem sustainability,” Journal of Hydrology, vol. 665, p. 134679, 2026. doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.134679.
3. M. A. Adeshina et al., “From potential to power: Advancing Nigeria’s energy sector through renewable integration and policy reform,” Sustainability, vol. 16, no. 20, p. 8803, 2024. doi:10.3390/su16208803.
4. Y. S. Umar et al., “Development of hybrid renewable energy-powered drilling rig systems for sustainable irrigation in semi-arid regions,” Int. J. Electr. Electron. Eng. Stud., vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 43–59, 2025. doi:10.37745/ijeees.14/vol11n14359.
5. C. S. Guno and C. B. Agaton, “Socio-economic and environmental analyses of solar irrigation systems for sustainable agricultural production,” Sustainability, vol. 14, no. 11, p. 6834, 2022. doi:10.3390/su14116834.
6. M. G. Osman et al., “Analysis of photovoltaic systems with battery storage, electric vehicle charging, and smart energy management,” Sustainability, vol. 17, no. 9, p. 3887, 2025. doi:10.3390/su17093887.
7. K. Taghizad-Tavana et al., “Hybrid renewable energy systems for off-grid electrification,” Eng, vol. 6, no. 11, p. 309, 2025. doi:10.3390/eng6110309.
8. F. I. Ouissaaden, H. Kamel, and S. Dlimi, “Simulation and performance evaluation of a photovoltaic water pumping system with hybrid MPPT,” Processes, vol. 13, no. 9, p. 2867, 2025. doi:10.3390/pr13092867.
9. R. Maity et al., “Agrivoltaic systems for sustainability,” Solar Compass, vol. 16, p. 100148, 2025. doi: 10.1016/j.solcom.2025.100148.
10. A. Razmjoo et al., “Moving toward the expansion of energy storage systems,” Sustainability, vol. 16, no. 22, p. 9926, 2024. doi:10.3390/su16229926.
11. N. Alfred et al., “A fuzzy logic-based energy management model,” Scientific Reports, vol. 15, p. 24660, 2025. doi:10.1038/s41598-025-09662-z.
12. B. F. Silinto et al., “Hybrid renewable energy systems for rural electrification,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 207, p. 114916, 2025. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2024.114916.
13. M. U. Emezirinwune et al., “Off-grid PV/biomass/DG/battery hybrid renewable energy,” e-Prime, vol. 10, p. 100808, 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.prime.2024.100808.
14. M. A. Omar, “Green mechanism: Opportunities for corporate investment in PV/battery/diesel hybrid systems,” Energy Exploration & Exploitation, vol. 42, no. 6, pp. 2125–2149, 2024. doi:10.1177/01445987241269009.
15. M. A. Omar, “The significance of considering battery service-lifetime,” Energies, vol. 17, no. 1, p. 103, 2024. doi:10.3390/en17010103.
16. S. Tufail, H. Riggs, and A. Sarwat, “Techno-economic and environmental assessment of photovoltaic–battery microgrids,” Energy Conversion and Management: X, vol. 30, p. 101668, 2026. doi: 10.1016/j.ecmx.2026.101668.
17. A. K. Shrivastav et al., “Techno-economic design and reliability assessment of a solar PV-battery-based green data center,” Franklin Open, vol. 11, p. 100290, 2025. doi: 10.1016/j.fraope.2025.100290.
18. L. J. Turcios et al., “Assessment of hybrid renewable energy system,” Energies, vol. 18, no. 23, p. 6141, 2025. doi:10.3390/en18236141.
19. A. H. Yakout et al., “Sustainable sizing, dispatch, and resilience planning of hybrid microgrids,” Scientific Reports, vol. 16, p. 7494, 2026. doi:10.1038/s41598-026-37727.
20. A. A. Shehu, B. Samaila, and J. G. Musa, “Performance optimization of stand-alone solar PV systems,” Int. J. Eng. Modern Technol., vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 172–223, 2026. doi: 10.56201/ijemt.vol.12.no1. 2026.pg172.223.
21. K. Nyarko, J. Whale, and T. Urmee, “Drivers and challenges of off-grid renewable energy-based projects in West Africa,” Heliyon, vol. 9, no. 6, p. e16710, 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon. 2023.e16710.
22. R. Azizoğlu and F. Koçyiğit, “Investigation of pump selection and energy efficiency in agricultural irrigation systems,” 2025. doi:10.55007/dufed.1681728.