Long-term outdoor performance of grid-connected photovoltaic power plant in a desert climate

Abstract

In this paper, a 2.25 kWp grid integrated with the tied solar park has been implanted in the Renewable Energy Applied Research Unit (URAER) in a dry and harsh desert region. The PV plant uses micromorph thin-film solar modules (a-Si/μc-Si) technology. The photovoltaic module systems (PVS) were evaluated from May 2015 to December 2020 (around five and a half years of operation), and the electricity was injected into the internal network of the low-voltage power supply. Performance evolution has been conducted in this work as stated by the IEC61724 guideline. The monthly and annual performance indicators analyzed and assessed consist of reference yield, array yield, final yield, system losses, capture losses, PV module efficiency, system efficiency, inverter efficiency, capacity factor, and performance ratio. The annual electricity production is 3688.28 kWh, 3188.25 kWh, 3306.28 kWh, 3136.05 kWh, and 2952.81 kWh for 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 operating periods, respectively. The solar park's total produced energy yield over the monitored period and the quantity of CO2 emissions avoided are 16,271.67 kWh and 14.17 tons, respectively, which can significantly contribute to and help in purifying the environment from pollution. In addition, the energy results produced by the PVS were compared to those found by the four widely used PV simulation tools (PVsys, PVGIS, NREL's PVWatts® Calculator and Solar Med-Atlas). Furthermore, this work investigates and quantifies the degradation phenomenon of solar PVS power output after five years and a half years of outdoor exposure. There is around 0.22 % degradation per year. When this rate was compared to other studies conducted worldwide, it was shown to be highly appropriate. Technical-economic research was also conducted, revealing that the system's PVS period, which establishes its sustainability, is between 9 and 12 years. The results demonstrate that micromorph thin-film modules perform better and are more efficient under harsh real-world outdoor environmental conditions. Inventux modules preserve most of their better performance even with increasing module temperature. This kind of PV module technology is low-insensitive to the highest PV module temperature. Compared to the literature, micromorph thin-film technologies are better and preferable than crystalline modules under desert environmental conditions. The results also indicate that grid-connected solar park plants using this kind of technology are feasible in the hot arid climate to produce electricity and may participate in future energy projects in the country.