Mitigation Control Against Partial Shading Effects in Large-Scale PV Power Plants

In today’s photovoltaic (PV) power plants, traditional crystalline PV modules are the prevalent technology, which is highly susceptible to partial shading due to the risk of irreversible damage. Therefore, it is advisable to explore potential construction sites for objects that might cause shading, including high-voltage transmission towers, whose shading effects can be significant due to their height. By means of innovative simulation, using a model, validated with actual data, this study endeavored to deliver novel information related to the problems of shading by high-voltage transmission lines. In the context of Hungary, it examined the risk factors, technical and economic aspects, and possible solutions important for PV projects. It provides new insight, much needed also at the international level, considering the fact that the extent of the shadows cast by conductors on the surface at low Sun elevations is not known at present and neither are the shading characteristics of conductors between two transmission towers, depending on their height, in winter, when the Sun is low. An added practical benefit of the study is that its technical and economic approaches and the software solutions are all based on the practice of PV system design and construction. Related to the investigated issues, this can facilitate the formulation of the technical and economic aspects of suitable PV power plant building strategies in Hungary.

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Five-Year Performance of an ESE Lightning Protection System for a Large Scale PV Power Plant in Thailand

Symmetry ◽

10.3390/sym13112106 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (11) ◽

pp. 2106

Author(s):

Rungphet Kongnok ◽

Thanakorn Pummaitong ◽

Boonyang Plangklang

Keyword(s):

Power Plant ◽

Power Plants ◽

Large Scale ◽

Protection System ◽

Lightning Strike ◽

Lightning Protection ◽

Performance Review ◽

Recorded Data ◽

Shading Effects ◽

Installation Cost

This article presents a five-year performance review of an early streamer emission (ESE) air terminal lightning protection system for a large scale PV power plant in Thailand. The comparison effect of a Franklin lightning protection system and the ESE lightning protection system was analyzed for the PV power plant. The ESE lightning protection system was selected to be implemented in the PV power plant. The capacity of the PV power plant studied was 8 MWp on an area of 150,000 square meters in the Nong Ya Plong district, Phetchaburi province, Western Thailand. A Franklin lightning rod type was also designed to be implemented in this PV power plant. The Franklin lightning rod type comprised 122 pieces but the ESE lightning rod type consisted of only 11 pieces. The conceptual design of the Franklin rod type followed the standard of the Council of Engineers, Thailand, and the ESE lightning rod type followed the NFC17102 standard of France. The estimated cost of installation was a key comparison to select the lightning protection system; the total installation cost of the Franklin lightning rod type was USD 197,363.80 and the ESE lightning rod type was USD 44,338.06. The lightning system was applied to the lightning arrester in the power plant to provide good protection, in which the balance of the pole to the mounting position is required to optimize the system performance. The result of the simulation also showed that the shading effects of the Franklin rod type were greater than the ESE rod type. The installation cost of the Franklin lightning rod type was 4.45 times more expensive than the ESE lightning rod type. Therefore, the ESE lightning protection system was selected to be implemented in the PV power plant. From the recorded data of the five-year performance of the ESE lightning protection system (2016–2020), there were three occurrences of a lightning strike on the PV power plant. The ESE lightning protection system effectively protected and prevented the lightning strike to the PV power plant. This study can help and support with the selection of a lightning system for the protection of large scale PV power plants in the future.

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Maximum Power Point Controller for Large-Scale Photovoltaic Power Plants Using Central Inverters Under Partial Shading Conditions

IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics ◽

10.1109/tpel.2018.2850374 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 (4) ◽

pp. 3098-3109 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Baburaj Karanayil ◽

Salvador Ceballos ◽

Josep Pou

Keyword(s):

Power Plants ◽

Large Scale ◽

Maximum Power ◽

Maximum Power Point ◽

Partial Shading ◽

Photovoltaic Power ◽

Power Point

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Waste minimization program in Shuaiba Industrial Area

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1999.0669 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 39 (10-11) ◽

pp. 289-295

Author(s):

Saleh Al-Muzaini

Keyword(s):

Solid Waste ◽

Power Plants ◽

Large Scale ◽

Industrial Area ◽

Waste Minimization ◽

Regulatory Body ◽

Eastern Sector ◽

Western Sector ◽

Petroleum Companies ◽

The Cost

The Shuaiba Industrial Area (SIA) is located about 50 km south of Kuwait City. It accommodates most of the large-scale industries in Kuwait. The total area of the SIA (both eastern and western sectors) is about 22.98 million m2. Fifteen plants are located in the eastern sector and 23 in the western sector, including two petrochemical companies, three refineries, two power plants, a melamine company, an industrial gas corporation, a paper products company and, two steam electricity generating stations, in addition to several other industries. Therefore, only 30 percent of the land in the SIA's eastern sector and 70 percent of land in the SIA's western sector is available for future expansion. Presently, industries in the SIA generate approximately 204,000 t of solid waste. With future development in the industries in the SIA, the estimated quantities will reach 240,000 t. The Shuaiba Area Authority (SAA), a governmental regulatory body responsible for planning and development in the SIA, has recognized the problem of solid waste and has developed an industrial waste minimization program. This program would help to reduce the quantity of waste generated within the SIA and thereby reduce the cost of waste management. This paper presents a description of the waste minimization program and how it is to be implemented by major petroleum companies. The protocols employed in the waste minimization program are detailed.

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Estimating CO2 Emissions from Large Scale Coal-Fired Power Plants Using OCO-2 Observations and Emission Inventories

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos12070811 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (7) ◽

pp. 811

Author(s):

Yaqin Hu ◽

Yusheng Shi

Keyword(s):

Power Plant ◽

Co2 Emissions ◽

Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide ◽

Power Plants ◽

Large Scale ◽

Global Climate ◽

Gaussian Model ◽

Point Sources ◽

Emission Inventories ◽

Bottom Up

The concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) has increased rapidly worldwide, aggravating the global greenhouse effect, and coal-fired power plants are one of the biggest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions in China. However, efficient methods that can quantify CO2 emissions from individual coal-fired power plants with high accuracy are needed. In this study, we estimated the CO2 emissions of large-scale coal-fired power plants using Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) satellite data based on remote sensing inversions and bottom-up methods. First, we mapped the distribution of coal-fired power plants, displaying the total installed capacity, and identified two appropriate targets, the Waigaoqiao and Qinbei power plants in Shanghai and Henan, respectively. Then, an improved Gaussian plume model method was applied for CO2 emission estimations, with input parameters including the geographic coordinates of point sources, wind vectors from the atmospheric reanalysis of the global climate, and OCO-2 observations. The application of the Gaussian model was improved by using wind data with higher temporal and spatial resolutions, employing the physically based unit conversion method, and interpolating OCO-2 observations into different resolutions. Consequently, CO2 emissions were estimated to be 23.06 ± 2.82 (95% CI) Mt/yr using the Gaussian model and 16.28 Mt/yr using the bottom-up method for the Waigaoqiao Power Plant, and 14.58 ± 3.37 (95% CI) and 14.08 Mt/yr for the Qinbei Power Plant, respectively. These estimates were compared with three standard databases for validation: the Carbon Monitoring for Action database, the China coal-fired Power Plant Emissions Database, and the Carbon Brief database. The comparison found that previous emission inventories spanning different time frames might have overestimated the CO2 emissions of one of two Chinese power plants on the two days that the measurements were made. Our study contributes to quantifying CO2 emissions from point sources and helps in advancing satellite-based monitoring techniques of emission sources in the future; this helps in reducing errors due to human intervention in bottom-up statistical methods.

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On the Root Causes of the Fukushima Daiichi Disaster from the Perspective of High Complexity and Tight Coupling in Large-Scale Systems

Symmetry ◽

10.3390/sym13030414 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 414

Author(s):

Atsuo Murata ◽

Waldemar Karwowski

Keyword(s):

Nuclear Power ◽

Power Plants ◽

Large Scale ◽

High Complexity ◽

Tight Coupling ◽

Large Scale Systems ◽

Safety Issues ◽

Loss Of Coolant ◽

Station Blackout ◽

Fukushima Daiichi

This study explores the root causes of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster and discusses how the complexity and tight coupling in large-scale systems should be reduced under emergencies such as station blackout (SBO) to prevent future disasters. First, on the basis of a summary of the published literature on the Fukushima Daiichi disaster, we found that the direct causes (i.e., malfunctions and problems) included overlooking the loss of coolant and the nuclear reactor’s failure to cool down. Second, we verified that two characteristics proposed in “normal accident” theory—high complexity and tight coupling—underlay each of the direct causes. These two characteristics were found to have made emergency management more challenging. We discuss how such disasters in large-scale systems with high complexity and tight coupling could be prevented through an organizational and managerial approach that can remove asymmetry of authority and information and foster a climate of openly discussing critical safety issues in nuclear power plants.

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A Combined Approach for Model-Based PV Power Plant Failure Detection and Diagnostic

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14051261 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (5) ◽

pp. 1261

Author(s):

Christopher Gradwohl ◽

Vesna Dimitrievska ◽

Federico Pittino ◽

Wolfgang Muehleisen ◽

András Montvay ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Power Plants ◽

Large Scale ◽

Failure Detection ◽

Energy Yield ◽

Combined Approach ◽

Levelized Cost Of Electricity ◽

Term Operation ◽

Model Based

Photovoltaic (PV) technology allows large-scale investments in a renewable power-generating system at a competitive levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) and with a low environmental impact. Large-scale PV installations operate in a highly competitive market environment where even small performance losses have a high impact on profit margins. Therefore, operation at maximum performance is the key for long-term profitability. This can be achieved by advanced performance monitoring and instant or gradual failure detection methodologies. We present in this paper a combined approach on model-based fault detection by means of physical and statistical models and failure diagnosis based on physics of failure. Both approaches contribute to optimized PV plant operation and maintenance based on typically available supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) data. The failure detection and diagnosis capabilities were demonstrated in a case study based on six years of SCADA data from a PV plant in Slovenia. In this case study, underperforming values of the inverters of the PV plant were reliably detected and possible root causes were identified. Our work has led us to conclude that the combined approach can contribute to an efficient and long-term operation of photovoltaic power plants with a maximum energy yield and can be applied to the monitoring of photovoltaic plants.

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Hydrogen energy and large scale hydrogen production with nuclear power plants based on high-temperature reactors

Journal of Physics Conference Series ◽

10.1088/1742-6596/1683/4/042031 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1683 ◽

pp. 042031

Author(s):

V V Petrunin ◽

I V Marov ◽

N G Kodochigov

Keyword(s):

High Temperature ◽

Hydrogen Production ◽

Nuclear Power ◽

Power Plants ◽

Nuclear Power Plants ◽

Large Scale ◽

Hydrogen Energy ◽

High Temperature Reactors

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Sizing and Management of Energy Storage Systems in Large-Scale Power Plants Using Price Control and Artificial Intelligence

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14113296 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (11) ◽

pp. 3296

Author(s):

Carlos García-Santacruz ◽

Luis Galván ◽

Juan M. Carrasco ◽

Eduardo Galván

Keyword(s):

Energy Storage ◽

Power Plants ◽

Large Scale ◽

Storage Systems ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Ancillary Services ◽

Energy Sources ◽

Energy Storage Systems ◽

Electric System ◽

Fundamental Part

Energy storage systems are expected to play a fundamental part in the integration of increasing renewable energy sources into the electric system. They are already used in power plants for different purposes, such as absorbing the effect of intermittent energy sources or providing ancillary services. For this reason, it is imperative to research managing and sizing methods that make power plants with storage viable and profitable projects. In this paper, a managing method is presented, where particle swarm optimisation is used to reach maximum profits. This method is compared to expert systems, proving that the former achieves better results, while respecting similar rules. The paper further presents a sizing method which uses the previous one to make the power plant as profitable as possible. Finally, both methods are tested through simulations to show their potential.

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