ESTIMATION OF PHOTOVOLTAIC POTENTIAL AT THE URBAN LEVEL FROM 3D CITY MODEL (SOLAR CADASTER): CASE OF CASABLANCA CITY, MOROCCO

Nowadays, the use of solar energy in buildings, especially photovoltaic energy, has undergone a great evolution in the world, thanks to various technological advances and to incentive programs. Related to this topic, the solar cadaster is an important interactive tool to predict the solar potential in an urban environment. The main objective of this research work is to estimate the photovoltaic energy potential of roofs based on aerial photogrammetry and GIS processing. The location chosen for the study is the Maarif district located in the city of Casablanca in order to raise awareness of the public and decision makers to this energy potential through a geoportal that will be developed for this purpose. The tool proposed in this research work makes it possible to evaluate the solar irradiation on a part of the territory of Casablanca with a sufficiently satisfactory precision and reliability, this thanks to the precise reconstruction of the territory in 3D urban model called digital surface model (DSM) at 50 cm resolution by techniques known as photogrammetry which makes it possible to carry out measurements extracted from a stereoscopic pairs, by using the parallax and the correlation between the digital images taken from various points of view. The analysis was used on the basis of specific algorithms and several factors including geographical location, shade, tilt, orientation, roof accessibility and topography which are the main factors influencing the productivity of solar panels.

Designing and Energy Estimation of Photovoltaic Energy Generation System and Prediction of Plant Performance with the Variation of Tilt Angle and Interrow Spacing

The focus of this research is to design a ground-mounted photovoltaic system at optimal tilt angle and interrow space to meet high demand of electrical energy. The Department of Electrical Engineering and Technology, GC University Faisalabad has been considered to perform the simulation test. This study is conducted using Meteonorm software for solar resource assessment. Furthermore, HelioScope software is used for modeling of a ground-mounted photovoltaic system, study of PV system’s performance in terms of annual generation, system losses and performance ratio and analysis of photovoltaic module’s performance, current-voltage and power-voltage curves for different irradiance levels. From SLD, it is seen that 11 strings are connected to each inverter and inverters output power are combined by using 20.0 A circuit interconnects. The performance of photovoltaic systems is impacted by tilt angle and interrow spacing. From simulation results of all cases, it is concluded that the PV system installed at 15° tilt angle with 4 feet interrow spacing are more efficient than the other installed PV systems, because total collector irradiance is maximum (1725.0 kWh/m2) as compared to other tilt angles. At 15° tilt angle, the annual production of photovoltaic system is 2.265 GWh and performance ratio of PV system is 82.0%. It is envisioned that this work will provide the guidance to energy system designers, planners and investors to formulate strategies for the installation of photovoltaic energy systems in Pakistan and all over the world.

Photovoltaics and Electrification in Agriculture

The editorial introduces a Special Issue entitled “Photovoltaics and Electrification in Agriculture”. Agriculture requires not only tillage and fertilization but also water supply and, in some cases, heating and cooling. These needs go hand in hand with the use of energy, which, increasingly, is electrical energy. An option that has dropped a lot in price in recent years is photovoltaic energy. This type of energy has experienced an explosion in terms of its expansion worldwide and has been revealed as a viable solution to rapidly increase the electrical power of non-fossil origin. However, the use of panels must compete with the use of the soil for cultivation, and in many cases, it could displace the use of the soil for cultivation, something that would not be desirable either from a production point of view or from an ecological point of view. For this, a new concept of soil sharing for crops and energy production is being developed in what is called “agrovoltaics”. This shared production model is analyzed in this document. In addition, the electrification of agriculture allows the introduction of elements, such as sensors, the IoT, and intelligent control. The internet connection opens the doors to technologies such as those based on data, digital control, and what is called precision agriculture, both for cultivation in greenhouses and for regular cultivation. This would not be possible without an electrical energy source that allows powering the inter-connected elements, photovoltaics being the best candidate again. However, above all, we must not forget the issue of CO2 emissions due to the use of energy in agriculture. In this sense, photovoltaic energy can reduce the carbon footprint and provide one of the cheapest energy sources available. All these topics are analyzed in this Special Issue, focusing on photovoltaics and its uses and impact on agriculture.