Assessment of stand-alone photovoltaic system and mini-grid solar system as solutions to electrification of remote villages in Afghanistan

Afghanistan enjoys huge renewable energy, especially solar resources. Meanwhile, most of the population especially people who live in remote rural areas, still do not have appropriate access to electricity. Poor access to energy has made life more challenging and deprived rustic people from related primary living facilities. To address this grant challenge, considering the high potential of solar energy available in the country, this paper presents a study on design and economic comparison of the two most feasible methods of solar power production for rural areas in Afghanistan. In the first method, a stand-alone Solar Photovoltaic (PV) system has individually been considered in every single house of a village. In this way, energy is produced and consumed in each house itself. While in the second method, energy for the whole village is produced by a micro solar power station in a centralized manner and then distributed through a 0.4 kV islanded Mini grid all around the village. The study is carried out through conventional mathematical relations, based on daily energy demand in a rural household. The result indicates that implementation of the second method is not only best affordable but also more viable and will create other socio-economic opportunities.

Download Full-text

Study on Premature Failure of PV Systems in Malaysia using FMEA and Integrated ISM Approaches

MATEC Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/matecconf/201822504004 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 225 ◽

pp. 04004

Author(s):

Tan Dei Han ◽

Mohamad Rosman M. Razif ◽

Shaharin A. Sulaiman

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Cooling System ◽

Photovoltaic System ◽

Extensive Literature ◽

Solar Photovoltaic ◽

Pv System ◽

Premature Failure ◽

Pv Systems ◽

Operation And Maintenance ◽

Solar Photovoltaic System

Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems has the potential of supplying infinite electricity from renewable energy to rural areas around Malaysia. Various preterm failures happening frequently on the system lead to its drop in efficiency and breakdown. Lack of studies on the system in Malaysia hinders the development in terms of operation and maintenance. There is no proper documentation relevant to the premature failure of the system in Malaysia. The main objective of this project is to study the nature of premature failure of stand-alone solar photovoltaic system in Malaysia in order to improve the operation and maintenance of the system. The present study would provide reference for proper planning on operation and maintenance of the PV system. The study was conducted base on expert’s input and extensive literature survey. FMEA method and ISM approach are applied to analyze the data collected. Poor cooling system have the highest risk priority number. Poor workmanship is the least depending factor for premature failure to happen thus requires most attention. Highest driving force of premature failure is poor monitoring and maintenance. More focus should be given to these premature failure during the planning for operation and maintenance due to its severity and impact.

Download Full-text

The Effectiveness of New Solar Photovoltaic System with Supercapacitor for Rural Areas

International Journal of Renewable Energy Development ◽

10.14710/ijred.5.3.249-257 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 249-257 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Muhammad Izuan Fahmi Romli ◽

Rajprasad Kumar Rajkumar ◽

Wong Yee Wan ◽

Chong Lee Wai ◽

Roselina Arelhi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Renewable Energy ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Photovoltaic System ◽

Solar Photovoltaic ◽

Pv System ◽

Maintenance Costs ◽

Battery Lifetime ◽

Pv Systems ◽

Battery State Of Charge ◽

Solar Photovoltaic System

Countries like Malaysia have more that 70% of its population living in rural areas. Majority of these rural areas lie in regions where most villages do not have grid connected electricity. Renewable energy using photovoltaic (PV) panels offers an alternative and cost efficient solution that exploits the yearlong abundance of sunlight available in countries like Malaysia. The main problem with PV systems is the high maintenance costs in replacing batteries every few years which makes PV systems unattractive for rural areas. A full scale PV system, developed in Semenyih Malaysia, aims to increase battery lifetime and reduce maintenance costs by incorporating supercapacitors. The system was developed in a life-sized cabin to mimic a rural home. A programmable load is used to test the system with the load profile of a typical rural household usage. Experimental and simulation results show that the supercapacitor bank is able to reduce the stress on the battery by absorbing peak current surges. Results also show that the system is able to maintain a high battery state of charge during the entire day.Article History: Received June 17th 2016; Received in revised form August 16th 2016; Accepted Sept 10th 2016; Available onlineHow to Cite This Article: Fahmi, M.I., Rajkumar, R., Wong, Y.W., Chong, L.W., Arelhi, R., and Isa, D. (2016) The Effectiveness of New Solar Photovoltaic System with Supercapacitor for Rural Areas. Int. Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 5(3), 249-257.http://dx.doi.org/10.14710/ijred.5.3.249-257

Download Full-text

Solar Energy Assessment in Various Regions of Indian Sub-continent

10.5772/intechopen.95118 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Johny Renoald Albert ◽

Dishore Shunmugham Vanaja

Keyword(s):

Solar Energy ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Graphical Representation ◽

Photovoltaic System ◽

Solar Irradiation ◽

Solar Photovoltaic ◽

Pv System ◽

Energy Assessment ◽

Energy Auditing ◽

Solar Photovoltaic System

The demand for sustainable energy has increased significantly over the years due to the rapid depletion of fossil fuels. The solar photovoltaic system has been the advantage of converting solar irradiation directly to electricity, and it is suitable for most of the regions. But in the case of solar energy conversion, the voltage evolved from the solar photovoltaic cells is not adequate to meet the energy demand. Therefore, the converters and inverters with energy storage systems are used to fulfill the energy demand. These conversion architectures create new challenges for effective management of the grid. Due to the evaluation of power generation, load in a particular region or area, let us simplify with the help of the duck curve. The study is focused on the energy auditing, assessment, and measurement of solar irradiation from PV system design software. This graphical representation is implemented with a typical electricity load pattern at any region.

Download Full-text

An innovative learning approach for solar power forecasting using genetic algorithm and artificial neural network

Open Engineering ◽

10.1515/eng-2020-0073 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 630-641 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Debasish Pattanaik ◽

Sanhita Mishra ◽

Ganesh Prasad Khuntia ◽

Ritesh Dash ◽

Sarat Chandra Swain

Keyword(s):

Solar Power ◽

Weather Condition ◽

Photovoltaic System ◽

Design Stage ◽

Solar Photovoltaic ◽

Solar Pv ◽

Time Data ◽

Pv System ◽

Simulink Model ◽

Solar Photovoltaic System

AbstractAnalysing the Output Power of a Solar Photo-voltaic System at the design stage and at the same time predicting the performance of solar PV System under different weather condition is a primary work i.e. to be carried out before any installation. Due to large penetration of solar Photovoltaic system into the traditional grid and increase in the construction of smart grid, now it is required to inject a very clean and economic power into the grid so that grid disturbance can be avoided. The level of solar Power that can be generated by a solar photovoltaic system depends upon the environment in which it is operated and two other important factor like the amount of solar insolation and temperature. As these two factors are intermittent in nature hence forecasting the output of solar photovoltaic system is the most difficult work. In this paper a comparative analysis of different solar photovoltaic forecasting method were presented. A MATLAB Simulink model based on Real time data which were collected from Odisha (20.9517∘N, 85.0985∘E), India. were used in the model for forecasting performance of solar photovoltaic system.

Download Full-text

Sizing an Off-Grid Photovoltaic System and Economic Comparison with Petrol Generator Using Life Cycle Cost (LCC) Approach for a Typical Rural Primary Healthcare Center in Nigeria

Journal of Energy and Safety Technology (JEST) ◽

10.11113/jest.v2n2.45 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Okakwu, I.K ◽

Olabode, O.E ◽

Ade-Ikuesan, O.O ◽

A.E Airoboman

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Power Supply ◽

Life Cycle Cost ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Photovoltaic System ◽

Maintenance Cost ◽

Pv System ◽

Health Care Center ◽

Photovoltaic Array ◽

Economic Comparison

It is needless to re-emphasize that modern day healthcare systems require uninterruptible power supply, relying on the national grid for power supply most especially in remote areas in Nigeria is a deliberate attempt to paralysis and underutilize both the human and non-human resources. This paper presents the sizing of a stand-alone photovoltaic system and economic comparison with petrol generator in powering a rural Primary Health Care Center (PHC) in Agbado, Ado-Odo, Ota Local Government, Ogun State, Nigeria. Load survey of the PHC was done in order to know the daily energy demand. The average annual solar radiation and the estimated load for the PHC used as case study are 4.89kWh/m2/day and 14.40kWh/day respectively. The result obtained from sizing the photovoltaic system reveals that the estimated load will require 5.25kW photovoltaic array capacity, 21 modules (24V, 250W each), 10 batteries (12V, 200Ah each), 3 solar charge controllers (24V, 80A each), 1 unit of 4kW inverter (24Vdc/220Vac, 50Hz), 3x70mm2 insulated flexible copper cable and 3x2.5mm2 insulated flexible copper cable. Life Cycle Cost (LCC) technique was used to assess the most economically viable option in powering the PHC. The study also reveals a savings of 64.4% in LCC using PV system as against petrol generators in powering the PHC. The replacement cost constitutes the higher factor affecting the LCC of the PV system constituting about 47.7%, while the operation and maintenance cost forms the least factor with about 28.9%. Also, for that of petrol generator, the fuel cost constitutes the highest factor affecting the LCC, constituting about 87.6%, while the initial capital cost forms the least factor which is about 0.24%. The insights from this study can be reciprocated to other rural PHCs in Nigeria.

Download Full-text

GIS-Based Irrigation Dams Potential Assessment of Floating Solar PV System

Journal of Energy ◽

10.1155/2020/1268493 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Abraham Hizkiel Nebey ◽

Biniyam Zemene Taye ◽

Tewodros Gera Workineh

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Water Surface ◽

Electrical Power ◽

Photovoltaic System ◽

Solar Photovoltaic ◽

Solar Pv ◽

Pv System ◽

Photovoltaic Panel ◽

Solar Photovoltaic System ◽

Weighted Values

The majority of the Ethiopian population lives in rural areas and uses wood for domestic energy consumption. Using wood and fuel for domestic uses accounts for deforestation and health problems, which is also dangerous for the environment. The Ethiopian government has been planning to generate power from available renewable resources around the community. Therefore, determining the water surface potential of energy harvesting with floating solar photovoltaic system by using geographic information system is used to support decision-makers to use high potential areas. To identify useable areas for floating solar photovoltaic, factors that affect the usability were identified and weighted by using Analytical Hierarchy Processes. Thus, weighted values and reclassified values were multiplied to do the final usability map of floating solar photovoltaic with ArcGIS software. Due to the improper location of floating solar photovoltaic, efficiency is dropped. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify the most usable surface of water bodies in Amhara regional, state irrigation dams for generating electrical power. The usability of the water surface for floating solar photovoltaic power plant was 63.83%, 61.09%, and 57.20% of Angereb, Rib, and Koga irrigation dams, respectively. The majority of the usable areas were found in the middle of the water surface. Nature water surface is a key factor in generating solar energy; it affects the floating solar photovoltaic and irradiance coming to the solar photovoltaic panel surface.

Download Full-text

A new meta-heuristic pathfinder algorithm for solving optimal allocation of solar photovoltaic system in multi-lateral distribution system for improving resilience

SN Applied Sciences ◽

10.1007/s42452-020-04044-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Varaprasad Janamala

Keyword(s):

Distribution System ◽

Distribution Systems ◽

Voltage Stability ◽

Optimal Allocation ◽

Photovoltaic System ◽

Solar Photovoltaic ◽

Voltage Profile ◽

Pv System ◽

Solar Photovoltaic System ◽

The Impact

AbstractA new meta-heuristic Pathfinder Algorithm (PFA) is adopted in this paper for optimal allocation and simultaneous integration of a solar photovoltaic system among multi-laterals, called interline-photovoltaic (I-PV) system. At first, the performance of PFA is evaluated by solving the optimal allocation of distribution generation problem in IEEE 33- and 69-bus systems for loss minimization. The obtained results show that the performance of proposed PFA is superior to PSO, TLBO, CSA, and GOA and other approaches cited in literature. The comparison of different performance measures of 50 independent trail runs predominantly shows the effectiveness of PFA and its efficiency for global optima. Subsequently, PFA is implemented for determining the optimal I-PV configuration considering the resilience without compromising the various operational and radiality constraints. Different case studies are simulated and the impact of the I-PV system is analyzed in terms of voltage profile and voltage stability. The proposed optimal I-PV configuration resulted in loss reduction of 77.87% and 98.33% in IEEE 33- and 69-bus systems, respectively. Further, the reduced average voltage deviation index and increased voltage stability index result in an improved voltage profile and enhanced voltage stability margin in radial distribution systems and its suitability for practical applications.

Download Full-text

Design of a hybrid solar photovoltaic system for Gollis University’s administrative block, Somaliland

International Journal of Physical Research ◽

10.14419/ijpr.v7i2.28949 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 37

Author(s):

Jama S. Adam ◽

Adebayo A. Fashina

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Field Work ◽

Photovoltaic System ◽

Solar Photovoltaic ◽

Time Analysis ◽

Pv System ◽

Matlab Simulink ◽

Simulink Simulation ◽

Site Survey ◽

Solar Photovoltaic System

This work presents the design of a 100kVA hybrid solar power system for Gollis University’s administrative block, Hargeisa, Somaliland. Prior to the system design, a preliminary field work on the site was performed to essentially measure the power/energy consumption of Gollis university’s administrative block. The results from the site survey was then used to select the appropriate equipment and instrument required for the design. This was achieved by calculating the energy consumption and then sizing the solar panel, battery, inverter and charge controller. The battery back-up time analysis at full load was also carried out to determine the effectiveness of the inverter size chosen. The inverter system was modeled and simulated using the MATLAB/Simulink software package. The simulation was used to study the reliability of the size of inverter chosen for the design, since the failure of most photovoltaic systems is ascribed to inverter failures. The results from the MATLAB/Simulink simulation showed that the inverter selected for the hybrid PV system has the ability to maximize the power produced from the PV array, and to generate sinusoidal AC voltage with minimum output distortion. The results also revealed that the PV solar system can provide a back-up time of 47.47 hours. The implications of the results are then discussed before presenting the recommendations for future works.

Download Full-text

Performance Analysis of a Grid-Connected Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic System

Electronics ◽

10.3390/electronics8080905 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (8) ◽

pp. 905 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Akpolat ◽

Dursun ◽

Kuzucuoğlu ◽

Yang ◽

Blaabjerg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Performance Analysis ◽

Simulation Study ◽

Alternative Energy ◽

Sunshine Duration ◽

Clean Energy ◽

Photovoltaic System ◽

Solar Photovoltaic ◽

Pv System ◽

Simulation Results ◽

Rooftop Solar

Turkey is among the countries largely dependent on energy import. This dependency has increased interest in new and alternative energy sources. Installation of rooftop solar photovoltaic systems (RSPSs) in Turkey is increasing continuously regarding geographical and meteorological conditions. This paper presents an insight into the potential situation for Turkey and a simulation study for the RSPS designing and calculation for the faculty building at Marmara University in Istanbul. This simulation study demonstrates that 84.75-kWp grid-connected RSPS can produce remarkable power. The system is performed in detail with the PV*SOL software (Premium 2017 R8 - Test Version, Valentin Software GmbH, Berlin, Germany). Detailed financial and performance analysis of the grid-connected RSPS for faculty building with various parameters is also carried out in this study. According to the simulation results, the system supplies 13.2% of the faculty buildings’ annual electrical energy consumption. The annual savings value of faculty buildings’ electrical consumption is approximately 90,298 kWh energy which costs roughly $7296. A photovoltaic (PV) system installation for the faculty building, which has considerable potential for solar energy and sunshine duration, is indispensable for clean energy requirements and was supported by the simulation results. This paper can be considered to be a basic feasibility study prior to moving on to the implementation project.

Download Full-text

Optimization of Standalone Photovoltaic System Considering Loss of Power Supply Probability for Repeater Station of Nepal Telecom

Journal of Advanced College of Engineering and Management ◽

10.3126/jacem.v5i0.26682 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. 53-62

Author(s):

Krishna Ranjit ◽

Sanjeev Maharjan

Keyword(s):

Power Supply ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Human Life ◽

Vital Role ◽

Information And Communications Technology ◽

Photovoltaic System ◽

Pv System ◽

Communication Towers ◽

Potential Customers ◽

Geographical Locations

Telecommunication plays the vital role in the human life and has become an integrated part of the society. The rapidly growing information and communications technology and increasing competition in telecommunication markets triggers the telecom operators to extend their networks and services to their potential customers in different geographical locations. It necessitates them to install repeaters and communication towers powered by standalone Photovoltaic system in remote rural areas. This paper presents optimization of standalone photovoltaic system maximizing reliability in one of such remotely located Palethar Repeater Station of Nepal Telecom situated in Dadeldhura district of Far-western region. The optimization is carried out using Genetic Algorithm in MATLAB software for given load profile enhancing reliability of the system with maximum reduction of overall system cost. The loss of power supply probability (LPSP) is considered for reflecting the reliability of the system. The paper discusses different optimal configuration of standalone PV system under various values of LPSP after optimization.

Download Full-text