Solar PV power driven cold room storage for Saharan rural area

Abstract

The use of renewable energy sources is usually a reliable alternative in rural areas and developing countries, where the gridline does not exist or is at a great distance. The present work is to study the possibility of feeding the tomatoes preservation cold room storage in the Sahara region driven by solar photovoltaic generator. An energy-efficient design has been achieved by analytical calculation. A PV field calculation approach yielded the following results: for a storage capacity of about 1 ton of tomatoes, the cooling capacity is 2.5 kW. The use of the design unit gave us in terms of electricity requirements 27 kWh/day by the GPV generator at Adrar province. Electrical power demands can be obtained using an alternative solution, which appears in Vapor Compression Cycles driven by PV modules. This technology considered as promoting concept for the south of Algeria investment.