Operation and Maintenance Field Experience With Photovoltaic Water Pumping Systems

This paper presents an assessment of the failure modes, operation and maintenance (O&M) costs, and system lifecycle costs for 77 photovoltaic (PV) water pumping systems installed during a fourteen year period from 1990 to 2004. These systems were supplied, installed, operated and maintained through a customer lease program by two rural utilities, Northwest Rural Public Power District in Nebraska and Verendrye Electric Cooperative in North Dakota. Field records have been tracked and analyzed to capture maintenance events, component failure experience, repair/replacement costs and installation cost histories. The results of these analyses including annual O&M cost, failure rates, and economic comparisons with grid extension options are presented and discussed.