Fleet Aggregation of Photovoltaic Systems: A Survey and Case Study

Abstract

The aggregation of Photovoltaic (PV) systems within different geographical locations, depending on their irradiance profile could possibly reduce the intermittency of the aggregated PV sites. This paper presents a novel review of different techniques and methods that have been developed and few case studies that have been presented on the aggregation of both utility-scale and roof-top PV systems. Finally, this paper analyzes output power smoothing (based on real power data) by aggregation of the power output of four PV power plants located in Florida. These sites have different installed capacities and different irradiance correlation coefficients. The AC power output of each PV site are aggregated with each other and the aggregation of the entire four PV plants is also analyzed. The results shows different percentages in reduction in the variability of the aggregated pairs of PV plants as well as the aggregation of the entire fleet of four PV sites. It also shows the impacts of the sizes of the aggregated PV sites on each other. This study will provide an insight into how utility-scale PV sites can be located and aggregated to reduce the variability of the entire fleet with higher PV penetration thereby reducing the effects of their intermittent nature on the grid.