Solar Photovoltaic

Solar PV generation involves the generation of electricity from free and

inexhaustible solar energy.
The major advantaje of a PV systems are:
- sustainable nature of solar energy as fuel
- minimum environmental impact
- drastic reduction in customers electricity bills due free availability of sunlight
- long functional lifetime of over 30 years with minimum maintenance
- silent operation no sound pollution !no moving parts"
The major disadvantage of PV systems are:
- #nitial cost. $he lowest cost of PV panels is around %&'()* the other
components of a PV plant !inverter+ infrastructure" are not included.
- Solar cells produce ,- which must be converted to .- !using a grid-tied
inverter when used in currently existing distribution grids. $he energy
conversion system produces an energy loss of /-%01.
- $he PV energy conversion efficiency is up to 001 !the latest technology"+ but
usually under %21.
- 3imited power density4 approx. %000
0
) m W it strongly depends of the
location.
- Solar electricity is not available at night and is less available in cloudy
weather conditions. $herefore+ for islanded systems a storage or
complementary power source is re5uired.
- Solar electricity is almost always more expensive than electricity generated by
other sources.
. PV systems consists mainly of4
- PV panels that convert solar power into ,- electrical power.
- Power convertors that transforms the ,- power into .- power.
. single PV panel is made of multiple cells connected in series and parallel on
solid frame. 6enerally+ one PV module has a rated power of %00 7 000*. $he modules
are connected in series and parallel to obtain a certain output voltage and power. PV
panel orientation can be fixed at an optimal angle according to the location !most used"+
or variable using a sun trac8ers !electrical or hydraulic".
%
Basic of PV energy conversion
PV cell converts sunlight directly into electricity. #t is made of semi-conducting
material in two layers4 P and 9. *hen radiation from the sun hits the photovoltaic cell+
the boundary between P and 9 acts as a diode4 electrons can move from 9 to P+ but not
the other way around.
Photons with sufficient energy hitting the cell cause electrons to move from the P
layer into the 9 layer. .n excess of electrons builds up in the 9 layer while the P layer
builds up a deficit. $he difference in the amount of electrons is the voltage difference+
which can be used as a power source.
0
PV model
sh
d
d ph sh d ph P
R
V
I I I I I I
*here4
-
P
I is the output cell current
-
ph
I
is the photovoltaic current
-
d
I
is the diode current
-
sh
I
is the shunt current
P S d P
I R V V
1
]
1

,
_

% exp
0
nkT
qV
I I
d
d
*here4
-
0
I
is reverse saturation current
-
q
is electron charge ! C q
%:
%0 ; + %

"
- k is <olt=manns constant !
% 03
%0 3> + %

K joule k "
- T is cell temperature ?@A
-
d
V
is diode voltage
-
n
is diode ideality factor !% for an ideal diode"
( ) [ ] 02
%000
+ T K I
G
I
I SC ph
*here4
- G is the solar irradiance in
0
) m W
-
SC
I
is the short-circuit current at C
O
02 and %000
0
) m W
3
-
I
K is the short-circuit current temperature coefficient
C
A
K
O I
00%B + 0
PV maximum power
$he maximum power extracted from a PV panel is achieved for a certain point on
the current-voltage characteristic.
Caximum power point !CPP" mainly varies with the irradiance and with the cell
temperature. PV systems include a maximum power point tracer !CPP$"+ which controls
the output PV current or voltage in order to bring the operating point at
MP MP
V I + .
/
PV panel parameters
$he values of the performance parameters are specified for standard conditions of
irradiance %000
0
) m W and cell temperature C
O
02 . $he 5uality standard of crystalline Si
PV modules is #&--;%0%2.
Main electrical parameters:
- Codule Power !
max
P
" ?*pA
- (ated Voltage !
MPP
V " ?VA
- (ated -urrent !
MPP
I " ?.A
- Dpen -ircuit Voltage !
OC
V
" ?VA
- Short -ircuit -urrent !
SC
I
" ?.A
- Codule efficiency ?1A
Photovoltaic Power Plants grid connected
$he two main components of a PV system connected to the grid are4 PV panels
and ,--.- converter !inverter".
2
PV converter classification4
%" with ,--,- converter with isolation on the low-fre5uency side4
0" with ,--,- converter with isolation on the high-fre5uency side4
3" with ,--,- converter without isolation transformerless4
&xample4
;
/" without ,--,- converter with isolation4
&xample4
2" without ,--,- converter without isolation - transformerless
&xample4
B
PV plant design
PV modules may be connected to the grid with module inverters+ string inverters+
or central inverters4
%" Codule inverters with small power ratings+ are fixed on the bac8 side of every
module. $hey can adEust an optimal CPP per device than results in a high total energy
yield of the PV system. 9evertheless+ this topology is 5uite expensive due to large
number of inverters+ extended .--side cabling and maintenance.
0" String inverters convert the ,- power of a whole module string. -ompared to
the module inverter+ the CPP control is less optimal if the incident light is unevenly
distributed or shading aries on some modules.
>
3" -entral inverters offer the advantage of high efficiency and low specific cost
!only one inverter". $he plant panels are arranged in many parallel strings that are
connected to the single central inverter on the ,- side. $he main drawbac8 is the
dependence of the power generation on a single component+ if the central inverter fails
then the generation unit will stop wor8ing.
PV standalone systems !islanded"
#n islanded mode PV power plants feed local consumers with electrical energy.
,ue to the solar energy intermittent nature+ storage devices have to be used in
conEunction with PV plants in order to achieve continuous supply of the loads.
Coreover+ most times PV is part of hybrid power systems+ where several energy
sources are used. *ind and solar with energy storage is the most spread configuration
because of the two sources complimentarily !sun in the day time and in the summer+ wind
in the night time and in the winter"
:
-onfigurations4
%"
$his configuration is the simplest+ but with the lowest performance. $he PV and
battery are connected on a common ,--bus that supplies ,- loads and the inverter. .
power management system ensure proper charging)discharging conditions for the battery+
by switching on)off thePV)inverter),- loads in case of over-charging and over-
discharging.
$he main disadvantage is that the maximum PV power cannot be extracted+
because it is directly connected on the battery thus+ the battery impose the PV voltage.
%0
0"
$his configuration includes a ,--,- converter in series with the PV+ witch acts
as battery charge controller and CPP$+ thus extracting maximum power from the PV.
$he system performance are improved+ but with the cost of an additional power
converter.
%%
3"
#n this configuration both the battery and the PV are connected in the system
trough ,--.- converters and the power exchange is accomplished on .- bus.
#t is the most flexible configuration and is suitable for higher power range.
Fowever the complexity and cost are also higher.
%0