Private Solar Power Plants of Ukraine of Small Capacity: Features of Exploitation and Operating Experience

Abstract

In the post-Soviet space, Ukraine has seen intensive development of private solar generation, which is facilitated by the “green” tariff legally introduced in the country on June 2015, which allows small private power plants with a capacity of up to 30 kW not only to consume energy for their needs, but also to sell surplus to the centralized network. In the country there is a well-defined algorithm for the relationship between the object of solar generation and the energy supplying organization. The three solar power plants of small capacity that are located in private households in the city of Melitopol’ is the striking example of this interaction. The analysis of the structure of these power plants, the orientation of the photovoltaic panels and their operation allows us to say that the electrotechnical generating equipment of these plants is effectively operated yearround. In the warm season, the consumed electric energy is enough to supply household and communal needs, and sell the surplus into the grid at the “green” tariff. In the cold season, at not all of these private power plants are the surplusses of the energy supplying organizations sold, since most of the electricity they generate is spent on heating the premises and supplying hot water. Today the possibility of increasing the power generation by photovoltaic modules within the framework of the quotas permitted by the “green” law is being considered.