Impacts of albedo and atmospheric conditions on the efficiency of solar energy: a case study in temperate climate of Choman, Iraq

Abstract

Temperature and solar radiation have large effects on the performance of photovoltaic (PV) systems. PV cell temperature is related to the ambient temperature, while the solar radiation incident on PV surface depends on the slope and azimuth of the PV panels. Furthermore, ground reflectance (albedo) affects the solar radiation incident on the PV surface and hence influences its performance. Nevertheless, the impact of some important factors on the PV performance such as the ground reflectance at different tilt angles and temperature coefficient of power under Middle East (temperate) climatic conditions are scarcely reported. In this research paper, a techno-economic analysis has been done to investigate the impact of temperature, tilt and azimuth angles, and ground reflectance on the performance of solar energy system. HOMER software was used as a tool in this study where Choman, Iraq, was selected as a case study. The results indicate that with a base case (temperature coefficient of − 0.48%/ °C, albedo of 20% and ambient temperature of 11 °C), facing the PV to south with a tilt angle of 40° or 45° results in the most economical system by having net present cost of $70595 and cost of energy of $0.54/kWh. Furthermore, PV modules with high sensitivity to temperature are found to be an attractive option based on Choman ambient temperature. Meanwhile, increasing the ground reflectance from 10 to 90% results in an increase of the annual optimum tilt angle from 38° to 52° and a decrease of the PV required capacity from 20.8 to 19.4 kW (for temperature coefficient of − 0.48%/ °C). The results prove that the studied parameters must be treated well to establish an enabling environment for PV development in Iraq.