Performance analysis of 954,809 kWp PV array of Sheikh Zayed solar power plant (Nouakchott, Mauritania)

Abstract

Amid all renewable energies, solar PV is of particular interest, mainly in Africa. Mauritania is an example of African countries which, gives great concern to produce electricity via PV installations. This study is carried out on the performance evaluation of a 954,809 kWp photovoltaic array made up of micro-amorphous silicon situated in Nouakchott (capital of Mauritania) at Sheikh Zayed solar power plant. The measures of one year of operation from September 2014 to August 2015 were evaluated according to the IEC 61724. The results obtained demonstrate that the photovoltaic array performances depend on both insolation and environmental conditions. The array capture loss ranges vary from a minimum value of 1.63 h/day to a maximum value of 2.46 h/day. So, the system loss is relatively stable, with an average value of 0.12 h per day. The monthly performance ratio varies from 0.61% in August to 0.71% in November, with a monthly average value of 0.66%. The monthly average capacity factor achieves its maximum and minimum in October (20.54%) and January (11.66%), respectively. The energy generated by the PV array (Edc) and the energy fed to the utility grid (Eac) during November moth, are affected by the insolation and the module temperature. However, wind speed variation does not influence those energies. Two linear models, depending on insolation and module temperature, are proposed for the evaluation of Edc and Eac during this month. These laters present a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.96.