Abstract
The rooftops of Cardiff City Hall were surveyed to establish potential areas for commercial-scale photovoltaic (PV) system design. The orientation and tilt angles of suitable unshaded roof areas were measured for accurate PV system simulation. The performance of two PV technologies, polycrystalline silicon (p-Si) and heterojunction with intrinsic thin layers (HIT) was investigated. From the analysis of simulation, experimental, environmental and economic data, HIT was found to be the best-performing PV technology for system installation. Superior performance of HIT under diffuse sunlight conditions, typical of the UK climate, was demonstrated. Additionally, the maximum power temperature coefficient, verified during experimental work, was lower than the p-Si alternative (−0·28 against −0·50%/°C). Electricity demand data for City Hall were analysed and 8·1% of the annual electricity demand (solar fraction) could be supplied by an 88 kWp HIT PV system. The HIT PV system modelled would significantly improve the energy performance of Cardiff City Hall, avoiding >40 000 kg carbon dioxide emissions annually. The levelised cost of energy from one array (B, £0·11/kWh) was less than the current day tariff rate for grid import (£0·1173). The economic and environmental benefits of well-designed high-efficiency PV systems in the UK at commercial scale are also demonstrated.
Highlights
The UK government introduced the feed-in-tariff (FiT) in April 2010 to incentivise uptake of renewable energy technologies (DECC, 2014a)
In addition to the technical analysis described above, an analysis was carried out to compare the financial performance of the different technologies using discounted cash flow (DCF)/ net present values (NPV), payback periods and levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) metrics
This paper summarises the findings from two PV genres, mature (p-Si) against recently emergent (HIT) technology
Summary
The UK government introduced the feed-in-tariff (FiT) in April 2010 to incentivise uptake of renewable energy technologies (DECC, 2014a). Current UK government figures state that renewables (wind and solar energy) have increased the market share of electricity generation from 15·9% (2013 Q2) to 16·8% (2014 Q2), against a 0·5% increase in commercial demand from 24·7 to 24·8 TWh, with a total UK demand of 71·7 TWh (2014 Q2) (DECC, 2014b). Despite ambitious targets for PV deployment, mid-sized PV installations on commercial and industrial premises accounted for only 6% of the total installed UK PV capacity at the end of 2013 (UK solar strategy part 2 (DECC, 2014c)). These buildings are usually occupied during the hours of daylight, correlating well with PV power profiles where maximum power generation occurs around solar noon/midday. Identification of the best PV technology was concluded from the analysis of simulation, experimental, environmental and economic data
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