0000000000161259
AUTHOR
Hans Georg Beyer
Stability of the performance of thin film modules during one year of operation
At the University of Agder in Grimstad, Southern Norway, a test bench for photovoltaic modules is in operation since December 2010. Currently, various c-Si as well as aSi, CIS and HIT modules are under investigation. This project is part of the Norwegian contribution to IEA PVPS Task13. The paper focuses on the stability of the modules' MPP-performance in the course of one year. For this purpose, data on the DC response are logged together with irradiance and module temperature at one-minute intervals. Data analysis is performed in monthly blocks. The modeling involves two steps. First, the short-circuit current is expressed as function of irradiance and module temperature. Then, the MPP po…
Performance of grid-connected PV system in Southern Norway
This paper presents performance results from one of the first grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems in Norway. The 45 kWp system is mounted on top of a flat roof at the headquarters of a local utility company, Agder Energi, in the coastal town of Kristiansand. The system consists mainly of multi-crystalline silicon modules, with one thin film array. The system has been in operation since May 2011 and is instrumented for research and monitoring purposes. Data recorded include global and diffuse horizontal irradiation, tilted irradiation and other weather parameters, PV module temperatures, DC and AC current and voltage for three arrays, in addition to inverter power data and voltage quali…
Handling of Small Scale Structures of the Irradiance Field for Solar Energy System Analysis – A Review
Abstract Satellite derived irradiance information currently approaches a status as standard input for solar energy system analysis. Due to intrinsic limitations in spatial and temporal resolution, these data fail to give information of the full dynamics of the irradiance field in space and time. The analysis of systems with sensibility to details of the temporal evolution of the irradiance field and systems with sensibility to the spatial inhomogeneity of the field require knowledge of its fine-structured. Thus, methods for a respective enhancement of the satellite derived data are needed. This contribution presents various approaches discussed for setting up respective input data.
Assessment of synthetic winds through spectral modeling and validation using FAST
In this paper, we analyse the simulated and measured wind data with respect to their spectral characteristics and their effect on wind turbine loads. The synthetic data is generated from a stochastic full-field turbulent wind simulator - TurbSim for neutral stability conditions. We first investigate a model for velocity spectra and, a coherence model, by comparing the model results with the measurements. In the second part we analyse the synthetic data via spectra and coherence for two cases; without and with adding coherent events. Finally, we compare wind turbine loads calculated by using FAST simulation of 5 MW reference wind turbine on the basis of simulated and measured data for the gi…
Data sets for energy rating of photovoltaic modules
Abstract A proposal for generating standard climatic data sets for use in energy rating of photovoltaic (PV) modules is presented which will give a good comparability between different technologies. The current proposal of standard data sets consisting of “typical days” do not give realistic estimates of PV performance and thus is not sufficient as a rating standard. A dataset striking the balance between being significant for any location but does not consisting of too much data is required. A method to generate such a dataset is presented, meeting all the requirements of an international standard while being sufficiently accurate to differentiate between different devices of different man…
Contributions to the knowledge base on PV performance: Evaluation of the operation of PV systems using different technologies installed in southern Norway
To assist in establishing an accepted knowledge base on PV-modules and systems performance using a representative range of technologies, devices have to be installed at diverse locations, covering a broad range of environmental conditions. For the example of a high latitude location, modules and systems are installed and under investigation in southern Norway (Kristiansand region) by the University of Agder in cooperation with industrial partners. This paper presents first results of the analysis of module performance. The operational behavior of the modules is used to derive a modeling scheme applicable for performance prediction. This use is demonstrated by giving the expected annual perf…
Identification and Handling of Critical Irradiance Forecast Errors Using a Random Forest Scheme – A Case Study for Southern Brazil
Abstract Large forecast errors of solar power prediction cause challenges for the management of electric grids. Here, the classification technique Random Forests is applied to analyze the possible linkage of hourly or daily forecast errors to the actual situation given by a set of meteorological variables. This form a prediction of the forecast error and is thus usable to update the forecast. The performance of this scheme is assessed for the example of irradiance forecasts in Brazil. While limited to none improvements are obtained for next-hour forecasts, significant improvements are obtained for the next-day forecasts.
Analysis and Improving Methods of Efficiency of Solar Energy in Municipal Heating System
This paper introduces the current state of solar heating system among Wanzleben city heating net. In view of low efficiency (only 20-30%) of this system, it analyses the shortcomings of this applied system from sensors' situation, fixed flow problem, the influence of the user's water temperature and the length of pipe separately. Some improving methods which are effective by theoretical analysis are suggested. The implementation steps have to be discussed in more detail with the utility.
Estimation of annual energy output of a wind turbine using wind speed probability distribution
In this work, annual energy output of a variable speed wind turbine is analyzed using annual Weibull wind speed probability distribution function. The power coefficient variation with tip speed ratio in torque control region as well as pitch angle variation for maximum power output from wind turbine are analyzed for identifying control system parameters. The wind turbine power output and variation of power coefficient with tip speed ratio as well as pitch angle are examined / reported using annual Weibull distribution function. Finally the variation of the estimated annual energy output of the given wind turbine with the mean wind speed is presented.
Quantifying residential PV feed-in power in low voltage grids based on satellite-derived irradiance data with application to power flow calculations
AbstractA scheme using satellite-derived irradiance measurements to model the feed-in power of residential photovoltaic (PV) systems in a low voltage distribution grid is described. It is validated against smart meter measurements from a test site with 12 residential PV systems in the city of Ulm, Germany, during May 2013 to December 2014. The PV feed-in power is simulated in a 15-min time resolution based on irradiance data derived from Meteosat Second Generation satellite images by the physically based retrieval scheme Heliosat-4. The PV simulation is based on the nominal power and location of the PV systems as provided by the distribution system operator. Orientation angles are taken fro…