Optimal photovoltaic plant dimensioning using consumption data

Abstract

AbstractIn the transition away from fossil energy, the use of renewable energy is gaining more importance. Agricultural businesses have a high energy demand as well as space for the installation of renewable energies, such as photovoltaic systems (PV). However, with the growing difference between electricity prices and feed‐in tariffs, the profitability of photovoltaic systems increasingly depends on the share of self‐consumption. Farmers who want to invest in a PV system are facing the challenge which configuration they should buy. To determine the optimal size and orientation of a PV system, an optimization problem can be formulated which maximizes the profit after 20 years. The cost function is composed of the net present value (NPV), which takes into account the investment and maintenance costs, as well as sales profits and electricity purchase costs. To calculate these, the flow of electricity for one year in a hourly resolution is simulated. For this purpose, the individual consumption curve, which is obtained through measurements, and the power generation of the photovoltaic plant is considered. The power generation is based on physical equations and uses the geographical location of the farm. The size and orientation, such as azimuth and tilt of the system, are included as variable parameters in the optimization problem. Due to the annual curve, both the high‐yield summer months and the winter months are considered. Depending on this generation power curve and its overlap with the consumption power curve, differently oriented and sized photovoltaic systems are recommended. In this paper, the influence of the photovoltaic system orientation is analyzed using different artificially generated consumer curves, each with increased consumption at different times of the day.