Use of PV systems in remote car filling stations

Abstract

In Egypt, the average daily solar energy incident on a horizontal surface exceeds 5 kWh/m 2/day and, also, there are many remote areas that are not covered by the electrical energy of the grid utility. So it was necessary to depend on solar energy in supplying these remote applications. This paper introduces a case study for designing a PV system for feeding a remote area car filling station to be operated using photovoltaic energy. The design parameters will depend mainly on the load energy needed by the station, the geographical site data (solar radiation, ambient temperature) and, also, the degree of availability of electrical energy needed for the system. To ensure the PV system availability and reliability during its operation, an expectation for the system performance is prepared. The expected monthly average daily output energy from the PV system is compared with that needed by the load during a complete year. In the case of rural zones, it is proven that the economic situation of the photovoltaic system will be competitive, especially in a site of high availability of solar energy, like the remote areas of Egypt.