Abstract
The challenges to integrating a greater share of renewable energy, more specifically solar energy into the power grid in tropical islands are that these islands have a complex microclimate, high humidity and high cloud coverage. Because of this, the power output from solar photovoltaic (SPV) plants is severely affected. In this manuscript, the results of a study carried out on the performance of a 15.2 MW solar photovoltaic (SPV) plant in the island nation Mauritius is presented. The net annual yield was 22 162 MWh and has avoided 22 162 metric t of CO2 emission into the atmosphere. An attempt is also made to develop a model to forecast the power that can be generated from the SPV plants at that location. The grid operator, the national Central Electricity Board (CEB) needs to know a priori, the energy mix for the subsequent few days so that the level of operation of fossil fuel fired thermal plants can be tuned accordingly to minimize the environment pollution of this pristine island.
Highlights
IntroductionThe islands face serious problems in meeting the increasing power demand of its citizens
The islands face serious problems in meeting the increasing power demand of its citizens.Most of these islands are dependent on transported fossil fuels for generating power
Since in Mauritius, power generation is by the combustion of both coal and diesel by almost equal amounts, the solar photovoltaic (SPV) plant has avoided over 22 162 metric t of CO2 emission into the atmosphere in 1 yr assuming an average of 1.0 kg kWh–1 of CO2 emission from both coal and diesel-fired thermal plants [8, 9]
Summary
The islands face serious problems in meeting the increasing power demand of its citizens. For a larger power generating SPV plants which are integrated into the grid as dispatchable sources, it is better to adopt a model which involves the major parameters which cause attenuation of solar radiation at upper atmosphere at a given location and solar power output at a location. A multivariate regression is used to obtain the best fit expression This will enable power producers to predict, in advance, the expected yield under different climatic conditions. With such predictions, production of electricity from different resources such as coal and diesel could be minimized and the emissions of greenhouse gases could be reduced
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