Performance Ratio Of Photovoltaic Systems Research Articles

Assessment of Power Quality for Large Scale Utility Grid-Connected Solar Power Plant Integrated System

This paper introduces the simulation and analysis of a three-phase large-scale grid-connected solar Photovoltaic (PV) system in order to assess the effect of integrated PV grid-connected mode on the power quality of the utility grid. The study takes into account the effect of solar system power variation as well as the PV inverter's introduction of penetrating harmonics into the system. The simulation of the system is done in MATLAB software using the SIMULINK environment and is tested by the Pysyst program. Where it is done in real-time with an actual case study on a 1620-kW PV array connected to an 11-kV grid via a three-level Voltage Source Converter (VSC). The technical data was recorded, and the system's power quality was examined. The grid-connected PV system's Performance Ratio (PR) is assessed to determine the PV system's reliability and grid connectivity.

Thermal impact on the performance ratio of photovoltaic systems: A case study of 8000 photovoltaic installations

Investigating the thermal impact including the fluctuations of the solar irradiance and ambient temperature of photovoltaic (PV) systems is a topic of great interest by industry and policymakers, due to the limited case studies reported so far by the PV research community. Therefore, this article presents the analysis of 8000 PV systems distributed across England using the well-known metric, monthly performance ratio (PR). The PV systems were operated over five years, while the PR is calculated using the newly developed model by the US national renewable energy laboratory (NREL). Remarkably, it was found that the average monthly PR for all examined PV systems is equal to 85.74%, where the Midlands region in the UK has the highest monthly PR of 88.12%. We have also investigated the seasonal thermal impact on the performance of PV systems, where it was concluded that Spring and Summer seasons intend to have higher monthly PR compared to Autumn and Winter. Finally, a detailed experiment of three different PV modules affected by various hotspots, including cell-based and string-based, will be comprehensively discussed.

Characteristic Analysis of Photovoltaic On-Grid System In Tropical Region For Weather-Corrected Performance Ratio Calculation Method Implementation

Indonesia has different weather factors than the subtropical climate that influences the performance indicators of photovoltaic systems. One of them is performance ratio that is affected by temperature factors. NREL proposes calculation method of Weather-Corrected Performance Ratio for correcting factors (temperature) in calculation performance ratio of photovoltaic systems. However, the implementation of this method in real operating condition of photovoltaic system especially in the tropics, has not received special attention. In addition, temperature coefficient of power photovoltaic (δ) in Standard Test Condition, is used in the calculation method may be different in real operating condition. This study was conducted to determine the effects of weather-corrected performance ratio method and to know characteristic of temperature coefficient of power photovoltaic (δ) as factors in of weather-corrected performance ratio method, in real operating condition especially in tropics. Through analysis photovoltaic system data from the data logger it is found that the range values of weather-corrected performance ratio are greater than conventional methods, with a maximum increase of 2.43%. Moreover it is found that because average temperature of tropical climate is higher than subtropical climate, it makes the percentage of power decrease to rise in temperature (δ) in tropical climate is higher than subtropical climate.

Apparent performance ratio of photovoltaic systems—A methodology for evaluation of photovoltaic systems across a region

Most of the photovoltaic (PV) solar systems track none or only basic monitoring data, thus the investor has no or limited information about the performance, quality, and reliability of a PV system. In this paper, we report on a methodology to evaluate a large number of PV systems on a regional or even countrywide level. The methodology is based on an apparent performance ratio, a factor close to the temperature compensated performance ratio, although based on solar irradiation data from the closest meteorological station. The methodology is compared to a more detailed evaluation procedure and a comprehensive evaluation of a PV system where all the required—both electrical and meteorological—data are monitored. The results confirm that the apparent performance ratio is very similar to the temperature compensated performance ratio of a PV system.

Online Fault Detection in PV Systems

This paper presents the development of a practical fault detection approach in photovoltaic (PV) systems, intended for online implementation. The approach was developed and validated using field measurements from a Canadian PV system. It has a fairly low degree of complexity, but achieves a high fault detection rate and is able to successfully cope with abnormalities present in real-life measurements. The fault detection is based on the comparison between the measured and model prediction results of the ac power production. The model estimates the ac power production using solar irradiance and PV panel temperature measurements. Prior to model development, a data analysis procedure was used to identify values not representative of a normal PV system operation. The original 10-min measurements were averaged over 1h, and both datasets were used for modeling. In order to better represent the PV system performance at different sunlight levels, models for different irradiance ranges were developed. The results reveal that the models based on hourly averages are more accurate than the models using 10-min measurements, and the models for different irradiance intervals lead to a fault detection rate greater than 90%. The PV system performance ratio (PR) was used to keep track of the system's long-term performance.

Performance analysis of photovoltaic systems of two different technologies in a coastal desert climate zone of Chile

This paper reports on the performance of photovoltaic systems in the coastal zone of Antofagasta, northern Chile. This region is one of the most suitable places in the world for the use of solar energy due to the high solar radiation levels. However, this location is influenced by a coastal desert climate where the environmental effects on solar technologies are not well known. Therefore, we study the performance ratio of photovoltaic systems in a period of 16months, in which solar radiation and ambient temperature were quantified. The technologies were modules based on amorphous/microcrystalline silicon tandem thin films and mono crystalline silicon solar cells. The global tilted solar irradiation reached mean values of 8.5kWh/m2day in summer and 6kWh/m2day in winter demonstrating the high radiation available here. We analyzed how the performance ratio is influenced by the dust accumulation and the ambient temperature associated to this place. It came out that the difference of energy yield between the technologies became larger for summer and smaller for winter, and that the performance ratio decreased due to the dust accumulation between −0.04%/day up to −0.13%/day for positive ambient temperature gradient, and between −0.13%/day up to −0.18%/day for negative ambient temperature gradient.

An assessment of the energy generation potential of photovoltaic systems in Cameroon using satellite-derived solar radiation datasets

Cameroon like most developing countries does not have a reliable network of surface observation stations for collecting weather data. This has been a major drawback for accurate assessment of the energy generation potential of photovoltaic systems in Cameroon. A viable alternative is to obtain site-specific solar irradiation from satellite-derived datasets. In this paper, the energy output, capacity factor and performance ratio of photovoltaic systems in 33 locations spread around ten regions in Cameroon have been evaluated using monthly average daily global horizontal solar irradiation from long-term satellite-derived data available in Solar GIS software.An economic assessment revealed that a simple payback period of 5.6years and levelised cost of electricity generation of 6.79€c/kWh can be achieved in locations with annual electricity generation of 1764kWh/kWp if the capital cost of the PV system is 1500€/kWp at a discount rate of 5%. Alternatively, the simple payback period would be 15.7years and the levelised cost of electricity generation 28.82€c/kWh if the capital cost is 2500€/kWp at a discount rate of 10% in locations with annual electricity generation of 1053kWh/kWp.

Spatial insolation models for photovoltaic energy in Canada

Spatial models of global insolation and photovoltaic electricity generation potential for Canada were developed. The main objective was to provide Canadians with an easily accessible, reliable tool for rapidly estimating the monthly and yearly electricity production potential of grid-connected photovoltaic systems anywhere in the country, and for assessing the dependence of production on location, time of year and array orientation. Monthly mean daily insolation data from 144 meteorological stations across Canada were used, along with data from an additional eight stations in Alaska to improve the models in that region. Several photovoltaic array orientations were considered, including South-facing arrays with latitude and vertical tilts and a sun-tracking orientation. Partial thin plate smoothing splines as implemented in ANUSPLIN were used to generate the spatial insolation models. The models were based on geographic position and a transform of monthly mean precipitation, the latter variable being a surrogate for cloudiness which affects surface insolation. Photovoltaic electricity generation (in kW h per kilowatt of photovoltaic installed power capacity) was estimated for each month and for the entire year from the insolation models by assuming international standard values for the performance ratio of photovoltaic systems. The yearly average root mean square predictive error (RTGCV) on the mean daily global insolation ranges between 0.75 (vertical tilt) and 1.43 MJ/m 2 (sun-tracking orientation) (or about 4.7–9.0 kW h/kW in terms of PV potential), or from 5.6% to 6.9% of the mean. Ultimately insolation and photovoltaic potential were mapped over the country at a 300 arc seconds (∼10 km) resolution. The maps are available on a Natural Resources Canada Website. This is an important new tool to help Canadians gain an overall perspective of Canada’s photovoltaic potential, and allow estimation of potential photovoltaic system electricity production at any chosen location.