Abstract
A reliable methodology for the dimensioning of photovoltaic systems is presented in this paper. This method generates technical-financial variables that aid in the choice of the most adequate photovoltaic power system for each project. The techniques that are usually used determine the size of PV power plants considering the monthly average of the solar energy potential of the month with the lowest solar radiation and the electricity to be supplied to satisfy the demand. These conventional techniques generate an uncertainty of at least 40 %, mainly due to the daily dispersion of the solar energy availability and of the electric load. The proposed methodology takes into account a region’s own photovoltaic energy potential and the detailed characteristics of the electric load, matching both with different PV power plants sizes, and analyzing the whole during a time period that guarantees the reliability of the results. The energy coupling is performed integrating the energy parameters (solar energy and electric load) in short time intervals (30 minutes maximum) to determine the supplied energy, the unsupplied energy demand and the unused solar energy. The daily integration of the three factors, using a dynamic simulation and performing a financial evaluation, allows for the identification of the most appropriate PV power plant size for every project. The results indicate that this methodology reduces the uncertainty of the solar power-electric load coupling from 40 % to 2.2 %, which allows a better definition of the financial variables that determine the most appropriate installed solar power for a photovoltaic project.
Highlights
Today, different methodologies to size photovoltaic (PV) systems exist
Most of the existing methodologies, suggest using critical low values of solar irradiance and high average values of electric load for the calculation, which results in an oversizing that guarantees the operation of the PV system in any condition [1]; this results in a surplus of unused photovoltaic electricity, a higher initial investment cost and a longer than expected payback period
The sizing of a PV systems begins with the selection of the most important components: the PV panels, controllers, inverters, and accessories [2][3] that will be used in particular geographical conditions, where solar energy is available and an electric load has to be fed
Summary
Different methodologies to size photovoltaic (PV) systems exist. They allow the calculation of technicalfinancial parameters to improve the possibilities of using this energy source. Storage systems significantly increase the costs of PV systems, they are an important factor for isolated areas or locations where the network offers low electric power quality. In these places, the sizing of PV systems would depend strongly on the additional cost of batteries and the reliability required from the system during energy outages [5] [6] [7] [8] [9], even in shared storage systems [10]. This paper presents a methodology for PV systems sizing considering the coupling of the potential of solar energy and the electrical load through a dynamic simulation and financial evaluation
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