scholarly journals Experimental Study on the Effect of Dust Deposition on a Car Park Photovoltaic System with Different Cleaning Cycles

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7636
Author(s):  
Khaled M. Alawasa ◽  
Rashid S. AlAbri ◽  
Amer S. Al-Hinai ◽  
Mohammed H. Albadi ◽  
Abdullah H. Al-Badi

For a decade, investments in solar photovoltaic (PV) systems have been increasing exponentially in the Middle East. Broadly speaking, these investments have been facing tremendous challenges due to the harsh weather in this particular part of the world. Dust accumulation is one the challenges that negatively affects the performance of solar PV systems. The overall goal of this paper is to thoroughly investigate the effect of dust accumulation on the energy yield of car park PV systems. With this aim in mind, the paper presents scientific values for further research and opens the horizon for attracting further investments in solar PV systems. This study is based on a real PV system in the Sultanate of Oman and considers different cleaning cycles for 16 months (from 29 July 2018 to 10 November 2019). Furthermore, four different PV groups were assessed, and the system was monitored under different cleaning frequencies. In general, it was found that dust accumulation has a significant impact; under 29-day, 32-day, 72-day, and 98-day cleaning cycles, the average percentages of energy loss due to soiling were 9.5%, 18.2%, 31.13%, and 45.6%, respectively. In addition, the dust effect has a seasonal variation. The study revealed that dust accumulation has a more negative impact during summer than during winter. During summer, the energy losses due to soiling were 8.7% higher than those during winter. The difference was attributed to different environmental conditions, with high humidity and low wind speed being the main factors that worsen the impact of dust during summer. Based on the findings of this research, a monthly cleaning program is highly recommended in the city of Muscat.

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 586
Author(s):  
Fadhil Y. Al-Aboosi ◽  
Abdullah F. Al-Aboosi

Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems have demonstrated growing competitiveness as a viable alternative to fossil fuel-based power plants to mitigate the negative impact of fossil energy sources on the environment. Notwithstanding, solar PV technology has not made yet a meaningful contribution in most countries globally. This study aims to encourage the adoption of solar PV systems on rooftop buildings in countries which have a good solar energy potential, and even if they are oil or gas producers, based on the obtained results of a proposed PV system. The performance of a rooftop grid-tied 3360 kWp PV system was analyzed by considering technical, economic, and environmental criteria, solar irradiance intensity, two modes of single-axis tracking, shadow effect, PV cell temperature impact on system efficiency, and Texas A&M University as a case study. The evaluated parameters of the proposed system include energy output, array yield, final yield, array and system losses, capacity factor, performance ratio, return on investment, payback period, Levelized cost of energy, and carbon emission. According to the overall performance results of the proposed PV system, it is found to be a technically, economically, and environmentally feasible solution for electricity generation and would play a significant role in the future energy mix of Texas.


Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1121
Author(s):  
Kamran Ali Khan Niazi ◽  
Yongheng Yang ◽  
Tamas Kerekes ◽  
Dezso Sera

A reconfiguration technique using a switched-capacitor (SC)-based voltage equalizer differential power processing (DPP) concept is proposed in this paper for photovoltaic (PV) systems at a cell/subpanel/panel-level. The proposed active diffusion charge redistribution (ADCR) architecture increases the energy yield during mismatch and adds a voltage boosting capability to the PV system under no mismatch by connected the available PV cells/panels in series. The technique performs a reconfiguration by measuring the PV cell/panel voltages and their irradiances. The power balancing is achieved by charge redistribution through SC under mismatch conditions, e.g., partial shading. Moreover, PV cells/panels remain in series under no mismatch. Overall, this paper analyzes, simulates, and evaluates the effectiveness of the proposed DPP architecture through a simulation-based model prepared in PSIM. Additionally, the effectiveness is also demonstrated by comparing it with existing conventional DPP and traditional bypass diode architecture.


Author(s):  
K. Agyenim-Boateng ◽  
R. F. Boehm

The promise of large-scale use of renewables such as wind and solar for supplying electrical power is tempered by the sources’ transient behavior and the impact this would have on the operation of the grid. One way of addressing this is through the use of supplemental energy storage. While the technology for the latter has not been proven on a large scale or to be economical at the present time, some assessments of what magnitude is required can be made. In performing this work we have used NREL’s Solar Advisor Model (SAM 2010) with TMY3 solar data to estimate the photovoltaic system power generation. Climatic conditions close to load centers were chosen for the simulations. Then the PV output for varying sizes of arrays were examined and the impact of varying amounts of storage investigated. The storage was characterized by maximum limiting energy and power capacities based on annual hourly peak load, as well as its charging and discharging efficiencies. The simulations were performed using hourly time steps with energy withdrawn from, or input to, storage only after considering base generation and the PV system output in serving the grid load. In this work, we examined the load matching capability of solar PV generation (orientated for maximum summer output) for a sample Southwestern US utility grid load of 2008. Specifically we evaluated the daily and seasonal peak load shifting with employing varying storage capacities. The annual average energy penetration based on the usable solar PV output is also examined under these conditions and at different levels of system flexibility.


Electronics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 1443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Alshahrani ◽  
Siddig Omer ◽  
Yuehong Su ◽  
Elamin Mohamed ◽  
Saleh Alotaibi

Decarbonisation, energy security and expanding energy access are the main driving forces behind the worldwide increasing attention in renewable energy. This paper focuses on the solar photovoltaic (PV) technology because, currently, it has the most attention in the energy sector due to the sharp drop in the solar PV system cost, which was one of the main barriers of PV large-scale deployment. Firstly, this paper extensively reviews the technical challenges, potential technical solutions and the research carried out in integrating high shares of small-scale PV systems into the distribution network of the grid in order to give a clearer picture of the impact since most of the PV systems installations were at small scales and connected into the distribution network. The paper reviews the localised technical challenges, grid stability challenges and technical solutions on integrating large-scale PV systems into the transmission network of the grid. In addition, the current practices for managing the variability of large-scale PV systems by the grid operators are discussed. Finally, this paper concludes by summarising the critical technical aspects facing the integration of the PV system depending on their size into the grid, in which it provides a strong point of reference and a useful framework for the researchers planning to exploit this field further on.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3.34) ◽  
pp. 217 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Baldwin Immanuel ◽  
P Muthukumar ◽  
C Gnanavel ◽  
M Rajavelan ◽  
M Marimuthu

This paper investigates the transformerless single-phase inverter incorporates with the photovoltaic system along with the support of grid voltage. Solar Energy is a Non-Conventional Energy source which is mandatory for power generation due to their immeasurable parade and green pleasant nature. One-cycle control (OCC), Ruggedness and consistency which makes the interfacing with the grid easily. For grid interfacing, the inverter circuit does not need phase locked loop facility and are gradually being working for such solicitations. The strategy of the OCC inverter of one stage for solar PV applications is supported by means of a Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation to enhance inverter enactment at both low and high insolation levels. These factors allows the plan of a MPPT along P&O controller that pointedly progresses inverter playacting. Though, the OCC-based structures testified previous sensing of the grid voltage which slightly equalizers the strength of its characteristics, In order to dazed the restriction of prior researches, an One Cycle Control based grid-connected one-stage PV system is suggested. The sustainability of the suggested scheme is inveterate by performance simulation justification.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Russel Mhundwa ◽  
Michael Simon ◽  
Joel Nana Yongoua

This study presents an analysis of a 75 kWp grid-tied solar photovoltaic (PV) system with a grid tie limiter to provide energy requirements for an aquaculture centre in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. A data acquisition system, comprising power and energy consumption meters, was deployed to measure solar PV generation, demand for the facility, and energy drawn from the utility grid. Statistical analysis was conducted on the data to determine the impact of the solar PV plant in reducing demand from the utility grid throughout the day, and this was extrapolated into monthly and annual contributions by the PV system to meeting the energy requirements. Findings reveal that the annual energy yield for the system was 1 864.29 kWh/kWp. The solar contribution to the total load requirement on a 24 hour cycle was 28% (139.82 MWh) from July 2018 to June 2019. Summer and winter average contributions by the PV system were 62% and 57% respectively for the period of 05:30–18:30. The mean monthly solar fraction for operating the farm between sunrise and sunset was 0.44. Furthermore, a total of 141.07 tCO2 has been avoided due to the operation of the PV system.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Estifanos Abeje Sharew ◽  
Habtemariam Aberie Kefale ◽  
Yalew Gebru Werkie

The electrical energy demand is steadily growing, and hence, the integration of photovoltaic system to the distribution networks is also dramatically increasing though it has a significant effect on the network’s power quality. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of solar PV integration on the power quality of distribution networks. The study is conducted using ETAP software, taking one of the radial distribution networks available in Bahir Dar city during the peak of connected loads which has the least voltage profile. Furthermore, the optimal location of the PV in the network is done using particle swarm optimization. Accordingly, the appropriate location of the PV system is determined to be the farthest end bus (bus 34). Also, the impact in terms of voltage and current harmonic distortion on the distribution feeder network is comparatively discussed by comparing the distribution system parameters with different penetration levels of solar PV system. The simulation results obtained demonstrate that high harmonic distortion level is injected correspondingly as the penetration capacity of PV system increased which indicates that the solar PV system should be integrating only up to a maximum possible capacity the network can carry. The integration of the PV system beyond this maximum penetration level causes production of high harmonic distortion which adversely affects the system performance. At the maximum penetration level which allows the acceptable harmonic distortion limit, the total voltage harmonic distortion and current demand distortion are found to be 4.97% and 14.98%, respectively.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Michael Emmanuel

<p>As the solar PV technology continues to evolve as the most common distributed generation (DG) coupled with increasing interconnection requests, accurate modelling of the potential operational impacts of this game-changer is pivotal in order to maintain the reliability of the electric grid. The overall goal of this research is to conduct an interconnection impact analysis of solar PV systems at increasing penetration levels subject to the feeder constraints within the distribution network. This is carried out with a time series power flow analysis method to capture the time-varying nature of solar PV and load with their interactions with the distribution network device operations. Also, this thesis analyses multiple PV systems scenarios and a wide range of possible impacts to enable distribution system planners and operators understand and characterize grid operations with the integration of PV systems.  An evaluation of the operational and reliability performance of a grid-connected PV system based on IEC standards and industry guides is performed to detect design failures and avoid unnecessary delays to PV penetration. The performance analysis metrics in this research allow cross-comparison between PV systems operating under different climatic conditions. This thesis shows the significant impact of temperature on the overall performance of the PV system. This research conducts an interconnection study for spatially distributed single-phase grid-tied PV systems with a five minute-resolution load and solar irradiance data on a typical distribution feeder. Also, this research compares the performance of generator models, PQ and P |V |, for connecting PV-DG with the distribution feeder with their respective computational costs for a converged power flow solution.  More so, a method capable of computing the incremental capacity additions, measuring risks and upgrade deferral provided by PV systems deployments is investigated in this research. This thesis proposes surrogate metrics, energy exceeding normal rating and unserved energy, for evaluating system reliability and capacity usage which can be a very useful visualization tool for utilities. Also, sensitivity analysis is performed for optimal location of the PV system on the distribution network. This is important because optimal integration of PV systems is often near-optimal for network capacity relief issues as well.  This thesis models the impact of centralized PV variability on the electric grid using the wavelet variability model (WVM) which considers the key factors that affect PV variability such as PV footprint, density and cloud movement over the entire PV plant. The upscaling advantage from a single module and point irradiance sensor to geographic smoothing over the entire PV footprint in WVM is used to simulate effects of a utility-interactive PV system on the distribution feeder.  Further, the PV interconnection scenarios presented in this thesis have been modelled with different time scales ranging from seconds to hours in order to accurately capture and represent various impacts. The analysis and advancements presented in this thesis will help utilities and other stakeholders to develop realistic projections of PV systems impacts on the grid. Also, this research will assist in understanding and full characterization of PV integration with the grid to avoid unnecessary delays.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anas Sani Maihulla ◽  
Ibrahim Yusuf ◽  
Muhammad Salihu Isa

PurposeSolar photovoltaic (PV) is commonly used as a renewable energy source to provide electrical power to customers. This research establishes a method for testing the performance reliability of large grid-connected PV power systems. Solar PV can turn unrestricted amounts of sunlight into energy without releasing carbon dioxide or other contaminants into the atmosphere. Because of these advantages, large-scale solar PV generation has been increasingly incorporated into power grids to meet energy demand. The capability of the installation and the position of the PV are the most important considerations for a utility company when installing solar PV generation in their system. Because of the unpredictability of sunlight, the amount of solar penetration in a device is generally restricted by reliability constraints. PV power systems are made up of five PV modules, with three of them needing to be operational at the same time. In other words, three out of five. Then there is a charge controller and a battery bank with three batteries, two of which must be consecutively be in operation. i.e. two out of three. Inverter and two distributors, all of which were involved at the same time. i.e. two out of two. In order to evaluate real-world grid-connected PV networks, state enumeration is used. To measure the reliability of PV systems, a collection of reliability indices has been created. Furthermore, detailed sensitivity tests are carried out to examine the effect of various factors on the efficiency of PV power systems. Every module's test results on a realistic 10-kW PV system. To see how the model works in practice, many scenarios are considered. Tables and graphs are used to show the findings.Design/methodology/approachThe system of first-order differential equations is formulated and solved using Laplace transforms using regenerative point techniques. Several scenarios were examined to determine the impact of the model under consideration. The calculations were done with Maple 13 software.FindingsThe authors get availability, reliability, mean time to failure (MTTF), MTTF sensitivity and gain feature in this research. To measure the reliability of PV systems, a collection of reliability indices has been created. Furthermore, detailed sensitivity tests are carried out to examine the effect of various factors on the efficiency of PV power systems.Originality/valueThis is the authors' original copy of the paper. Because of the importance of the study, the references are well-cited. Nothing from any previously published articles or textbooks has been withdrawn.


Author(s):  
David A. Torrey ◽  
James M. Kokernak

State-sponsored incentives have played a significant role in driving the demand for residential and small commercial photovoltaic (PV) systems. All state incentive programs are tied to the power rating of the system, though some states also offer energy production incentives. Unfortunately, there is a disconnect between the power rating of a PV system and the energy that system produces over its lifetime. It is extremely important to consider system productivity, which goes well beyond the efficiency of the components. System productivity is tied directly to the structure of the array, not just the efficiency of the components and the quality of the installation. This paper examines the issues associated with improving solar PV system productivity. The focus is on comparing a series-parallel array configuration to a series-string array configuration and the impact on energy production. Partial shade is used to highlight substantial differences between the operation of the two array configurations.


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