Design, Installation and Performance Analysis of an On-Grid Rooftop Solar PV Power Plant for Partial Fulfillment of Common Load

Abstract

AbstractWith shortage of fossil fuels like coal, petroleum the energy generation is depicted toward renewable energy sources like solar, wind, biomass, etc. The renewable energy technologies present an emission free energy generation technique toward a sustainable tomorrow. Rooftop solar power plant (RTPV) is one of the good solar power generation technique. In this paper, a brief description on design, commissioning and techno economic analysis of a 50Kwp rooftop solar power plant design in Uluberia super specialty hospital Howrah, India have been described. The electricity generation in both input DC and output AC end of each inverter is recorded and monitored and analyzed in this paper. The input end DC power of the inverter is coming from solar panels. The open circuit voltage (Voc), short circuit current (Isc), maximum power (Mp) is noted as 48 V, 50 A, 49 KW, respectively, during 11am to 2 pm which is the bright sunny time of the day in West Bengal. The output power of the inverter is connected with the main transmission grid. The grid connectivity rule of solar power plant with main grid of West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) is briefly mentioned. The generated current, voltage, power by solar panels of the RTPV power plant is taken out using a remote data logger to a dedicated cloud server and analyzed the output data in this paper. The total load of the hospital building is 450 kva, which was paid earlier to WBSEDCL. The plant is generating an average of 5000 units per month, saving Rs. 511,817 per year. The Capacitive Utilization Factor (CUF) of this solar power plant is 14.7%. An attempt has been made to calculate the payback period or break-even years is approximately 5 years, Reduction of CO2 emission or carbon credit due to the plant has also been shown. A seasonal data analysis has been done to predict average output during any particular month of the year. Finally, it has been observed that this type of energy generation unit is suitable for all domestic as well as commercial applications for grid connected and off grid system with suitable battery backup in remote areas or sustainable and greener environment in the future.KeywordsSolar PVRooftop solar power plantIslanded modeArray junction box (AJB)Performance ratio (PR)Data loggerRenewable energy technology (RET)