Aquifer conditions, not irradiance determine the potential of photovoltaic energy for groundwater pumping across Africa

PVWPS operation

The motor and the pump are built in together¹⁴ and the motor-pump set is submersed in the borehole under the water⁴³. Control equipment is also installed between the PV modules and the motor-pump and/or integrated to the motor-pump set in the borehole^14,17. This equipment allows the motor-pump to stop and also to operate the motor-pump and the PV modules at their best operating points¹⁴. Once the water is pumped, it might then be stored in a water tank to mitigate the variability of solar resources^14,29. When pumping starts, a cone of depression of radius r_c is formed and…