Cost Of PV Systems Research Articles

The need of sustainable buildings construction in the Kingdom of Bahrain

This thesis is aimed to initiate implementing sustainable building construction in the kingdom of Bahrain, i.e. Building-Integration PhotoVoltaic (BIPV) or Wind Energy (BIWE). It highlights the main constrains that discourage such modern concept in building and construction. Three groups have been questioned using a questionnaire. These are the policy and decision makers, the leading consultants and the contractors. The main constrains of the dissemination of BIVP and BIWE, according to the policy and decision makers, are: lack of knowledge and awareness of the public in sustainable technology, low cost of electricity, low cost of gas and oil and difficulty in applying local environmental taxes. The consultants had attributed the constrains to ignorance of life cycle cost of PV and Wind turbines systems, lack of education and knowledge in sustainable design, political system, shortage of markets importing sustainable technologies and client worries in profitability and pay-back period. The contractors are found to be very enthusiastic and ready to take over any sustainable building project and prefer to have a construction manger to coordinate between the design and contracting team. Design and Build is found the favorable procurement method in Bahrain for conducting BIPV or BIWE projects.

Limited Contribution of Photovoltaic Energy Technology to Economic Development of Sub-Saharan Africa

AbstractThis paper argues that the cost of solar PV system is beyond the reach of most rural poor households in sub-Saharan Africa. The other disadvantage of PV technology is limited power output. PV technology is unsuitable for agro-processing activities that represent the most attractive options for generating incomes in sub-Saharan Africa. Agro-processing activities require equipment with average power output of not less than 1000 W. A PV system of 1000 W is suggested as being too costly for most rural homes, based on the current silicon technologies. The paper concludes by suggesting that sub-Saharan Africa urgently needs alternative energy technologies that can meet the overall energy requirements of the region and promote economic development in the rural areas. Alternative approaches are also suggested to improve the effectiveness of PV technology in providing the energy needs in sub-Saharan Africa in the short, medium and long term.

Analysis on dissemination conditions of photovoltaics in Japan by using energy system model MARKAL

The national target for PV capacity in Japan is 4.82 GW in 2010, and several PV Roadmaps for up to 2030 are also described. To achieve the target, several support programs, such as subsidization for capital costs, Green Credit by the Green Power Certification System, and buy-back under the Renewable Portfolio Standard law, have been already introduced. A carbon tax is still under consideration, but there are several analyses about the possibility of a carbon tax. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the PV system sales price and subsidies through buy-back which make photovoltaics cost-competitive with other energy technologies and make the target for PV capacity achievable by 2030 in Japan under an expected carbon tax. For the analysis, the energy system of Japan is modeled using MARKAL. Based on the results of the analysis, under a 6000 JPY/t-C carbon tax, photovoltaics need a subsidy for a while even if we take both fuel savings and Green Credit into account. In order to attain the national target for PV capacity in 2010, photovoltaics need more expensive buy-back than in the present, but after 2010 the necessary buy-back decreases gradually. If 120 JPY/W PV system sales price is attained by 2030, photovoltaics become cost-competitive without any supports. Subsidy through buy-back becomes almost unnecessary in 2030, if we can reduce it to less than 170 JPY/W. The total necessary buy-back reaches a peak in 2025. It is much more than ongoing subsidy to capital cost of PV systems, but annual revenue from the assumed carbon tax can finance the annual total necessary buy-back. This means that if photovoltaics can attain the targeted PV systems sales price, we should support it for a while by spending carbon tax revenue effectively and efficiently. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 154(3): 27–37, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.20248

Remote PV-system monitored via satellite

Abstract A majority of autonomous PV systems are used to supply electricity in regions with no grid, no telephone coverage, and limited accessibility. Commonly, systems in such regions are supervised by visits in conjunction with a data logger. Over the lifetime of a PV-system costs for supervision often exceed the cost of the system itself. Response time for failures is very poor. To overcome these disadvantages a data satellite transmission system was set up. From the PV system site the most relevant data—such as irradiance, PV generation, state of the battery and load—is collected and sent to the ARGOS-SCD satellite. The satellite data is transferred from the receiving ground station to the Internet, providing worldwide access via WWW. The advantages are manifold: sponsors (NGOs, foundations, public, etc.) have an immediate access to the projects, manufacturers can use the data to improve products, and the online monitoring system enables more public interest in the PV area.

Analysis on Dissemination Conditions of Photovoltaics in Japan by Using Energy System Model MARKAL

The national target for PV capacity in Japan is 4. 82, GW in 2010, and several PV Roadmaps until 2030 are also described. To achieve the target, several support programs, such as subsidization to capital cost, Green Credit by the Green Power Certification System, buy-back under the Renewable Portfolio Standard low, have been already introduced. Carbon tax is still under consideration, but there are several analyses about possible carbon tax.The purpose of this paper is to analyze PV system sales price and subsidy through buy-back which make photovoltaics cost-competitive with other energy technologies and make the target for PV capacity achievable by 2030 in Japan under an expected carbon tax. For the analysis energy system of Japan is modeled by using MARKAL.Based on the results of analysis, under 6000, JPY/t-C carbon tax, photovoltaics needs subsidy for a while even if we taking both fuel savings and Green Credit into account. For attaining the national target for PV capacity in 2010, photovoltaics needs more expensive buy-back than that in present, but after 2010 necessary buy-back decreases gradually. If 120, JPY/W PV system sales price is attained by 2030, photovoltaics becomes cost-competitive without any supports. Subsidy through buy-back becomes almost unnecessary in 2030, if we can reduce it less than 170, JPY/W. The total necessary buy-back meets peak in 2025. It is much more than ongoing subsidy to capital cost of PV systems, but annual revenue from the assumed carbon tax can finance the annual total necessary buy-back. This means if photovoltaics can attain the targeted PV system sales price, we should support it for a while by spending carbon tax revenue effectively and efficiently.

Driving PV system costs down: PV components and systems: The inverter

Given the relatively high costs involved in the manufacture of PV systems, manufacturers are continuously striving to find ways to improve power and efficiency ratios in order to keep costs down and help the growth of the industry at large. Government subsidies cannot be relied upon indefinitely and the industry has to ensure that it is exploring all ways of bringing costs down.

Solar hydrogen from photovoltaic-electrolyzer systems

A mathematical model has been developed to determine and optimize the thermal and economical performance of large scale photovoltaic-electrolyzer systems, either with fixed or sun tracking panels using hourly solar radiation data. It has been found that the overall thermal efficiency of photovoltaic-electrolyzer systems may be as high as 10.85% with sun tracking panels and 10.33% with fixed panels. The levelized solar hydrogen cost using either fixed or sun tracking panels is well correlated with the total annual solar radiation on a horizontal surface. Climatic conditions, altitude and latitude are not significant parameters affecting this correlation. The results show that there is a practical minimum cost of hydrogen, which is 44.5 $/GJ hydrogen when the PV system cost is 1 $/Wp and the capital charge rate is 15%.

Building-integrated PV installations in the Netherlands: Examples and operational experiences

Building-integrated PV started receiving attention in the Netherlands around 1990. Attention has ever since been focusing on the integration of PV into new dwellings. Efforts have resulted in cost reductions, performance improvements, the development of new integration products and the creation of a network with utilities, property developers, architects, building companies and local authorities. PV system costs have been reduced by one third, to 5 Euro in 2000. System performance has gone up slightly during the reporting period, further reducing the costs per unit energy produced. Inverter costs have gone down from 1.5 Euro/Wp in 1991 to 0.5 Euro/Wp in 2000. Concerning integration into buildings and the building process, the Netherlands PV programme has been concentrating on developing products for low-cost integration into sloped roofs of new buildings. Watertight profile systems have been developed, tested, and applied in projects on a growing scale. The costs for building integration have come down due to improvements in integration systems, the electric system and in installation procedures. Projects have also been carried out on an increasing scale to learn about the integration of PV into the building process. In total, a capacity of more than 8 MW was installed by the end of the year 1999, with projects ranging from individual dwellings and offices to solar cities such as the Nieuw Sloten project in Amsterdam (250 kWp) and Nieuwland in Amersfoort (1 MW). Now, at the turn of the century, plans are being derived to give PV the ‘boost’ to become commercially viable within the next 7 to 10 years. For this, an ambitious goal is being formulated by government together with the PV industry, utilities, the building sector and others involved in PV in the Netherlands. Already in the mid-1990s, the long-term energy programme of the ministry of Economic Affairs set the target at an installed PV capacity of 250 MWp by the year 2010. In order to achieve a commercially viable market within the next 7 to 10 years, however, a goal of 500 MWp installed PV capacity would be required. Recent research shows that such a target is ambitious, but achievable if supported by dedicated government programmes, investments by industry and contributions of the building and utility sector.

Economic evaluation of a stand-alone residential photovoltaic power system in Bangladesh

The economics of stand-alone photovoltaic power system is studied to test its feasibility in remote and rural areas of Bangladesh and to compare renewable generators with non-renewable generators. The life cycle cost of these generators are determined using the method of net present value analysis. It is found that the life cycle cost of this experimental PV system is Tk. 43.40/kWh for one family (US $1.00 = Bangladeshi taka Tk.50.00). The life cycle cost for grid electricity is Tk. 20.00/kWh and Tk. 7.75/kWh for generation of fuel costs of Tk. 6.80/kWh and Tk. 0.47/kWh respectively. For a village 1 km away from the distribution line, this cost becomes Tk. 125.00/kWh for a family. For petrol generator life cycle cost is Tk. 50.00/kWh at fuel price of Tk. 22.00 per litre. For diesel generator life cycle cost is found to be Tk. 46.10/kWh at fuel cost of Tk. 15.00 per litre. It is observed that the life cycle cost of one unit of energy from grids that are 1 km away from a village is much higher than the cost of energy from a PV system. Thus, the use of PV system is economically feasible in rural villages and remote areas of Bangladesh, where grid electricity is not available.

Centralized PV generation and decentralized battery storage for cost effective electrification of rural areas

A novel technique for the reduction of the overall system cost of PV systems in rural areas is presented. This technique comprises of centralized PV generation at a maximum power point voltage of between 90 V and 108 V, power distribution at around 85 V, and decentralized battery storage at 12 V (nominal). Maximum power point tracking (MPPT), single axis solar path tracking (daily) and reflectors are used to maximize the energy from the PV array. Decentralized energy storage in every house, with access restricted to the particular house, encourages energy management by the individual households. Load diversity is exploited by charging remaining batteries at a higher rate when some of the batteries are fully charged. Low distribution losses are obtained by charging the 12 V batteries in series, but access to the energy in the 12 V batteries are restricted to the individual households only. Experimental results presented, includes the power conversion efficiencies of the MPPT and the battery regulator, the energy conversion efficiency of a storage batter, and the increase in ampere hours from a PV panel using a three stage solar path tracker.

Optimum Design of a Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Power System.

As a part of various electric power sources, the photovoltaic power system are expected to be one of the important power systems in a near future. The authors have developed the computer program of optimizing grid-connected photovoltaic power system from points of view of daily electric load and electrical energy cost. In a grid-connected photovoltaic power system (PV system), electric power generated is supplied to distribution line and load.In this paper, the optimum design of typical private residence with PV system in Tokyo is calculated by using the various system performance models, the cost models, the daily electric load pattern, environmental data and so on.It was found that the capacity of PV system is 2.6kW when the selling price of surplus power and buying price of shortage one are equivalent. And then, the electrical energy cost of the optimum PV system at 2, 000 A. D. is estimated to be about 35yen/kWh.

Heliodyne: A minimal solar-powered interplanetary vehicle : Benedikt, E. T., R. W. Halliburton and C. C. Kelber, Astro Systems and Research Lab. Northrop Corp. NoRair Div., Hawthorne, Calif. 23 p. Sept. 1960, Illus.

The 1 axis-3 position (1A-3P) sun tracking PV was built and tested to measure the daily and long-term power generation of the solar PV system. A comparative test using a fixed PV and a 1A-3P tracking PV was carried out with two identical stand-alone solar-powered LED lighting systems. The field test in the particular days shows that the 1A-3P tracking PV can generate 35.8% more electricity than the fixed PV in a partly-cloudy weather with daily-total solar irradiation HT = 11.7 MJ/m2 day, or 35.6% in clear weather with HT = 18.5 MJ/m2 day. This indicates that the present 1A-3P tracking PV can perform very close to a dual-axis continuous tracking PV (Kacira et al., 2004). The long-term outdoor test results have shown that the increase of daily power generation of 1A-3P tracking PV increases with increasing daily-total solar irradiation. The increase of monthly-total power generation for 1A-3P sun tracking PV is between 18.5–28.0%. The total power generation increase in the test period from March 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011, is 23.6% in Taipei (an area of low solar energy resource). The long-term performance of the present 1X-3P tracking PV is shown very close to the 1-axis continuous tracking PV in Taiwan (Chang, 2009). If the 1A-3P tracking PV is used in the area of high solar energy resource with yearly-average HT > 17 MJ/m2 day, the increase of total long-term power generation with respect to fixed PV will be higher than 37.5%. This is very close to that of dual-axis continuous tracking PV.The 1A-3P tracker can be easily mounted on the wall of a building. The cost of the whole tracker is about the same as the regular mounting cost of a conventional rooftop PV system. This means that there is no extra cost for 1A-3P PV mounted on buildings. The 1A-3P PV is quite suitable for building-integrated applications.