Performance Evaluation of an Installed On-Grid Photovoltaic System at Bamako

Abstract

The primary goal of this paper is to analyze the performance of an installed on-grid photovoltaic 100 kW system installed on the roof of a building at the Institute of Applied Sciences, University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako. The system under consideration is part of a pilot project of a grid-connected system in Mali by the Renewable Energies Agency (AER). The PV system is located at 12.62°N latitude and -7.99°W longitude. It is composed of 313 monocrystalline modules of 320W for an installed power of approximately 101kWp and they are fixed on support inclined at 6 degrees orientated East-West. The system was monitored from March 2020 to February 2021. Within this period, the photovoltaic system supplied 114801.57 kWh to the grid with the final yield varying between 2.41 to 4.09 kWh/kWp/day. Additionally, the ratio of performance in this one year ranged from 53% to 89%. The annual capacity factor and efficiency are 13% and 10%, respectively. The main roots of this bad performance of the system are analyzed. The system performance is significantly affected by the soiling effects which are in other words attributed to meteorological and environmental parameters mainly dust accumulation and ambient temperature, as well as, factors like inclination (low tilt angle (6°)), the east and west orientation of the panels and finally lack of cleaning frequencies.