Investigating performance, reliability and safety parameters of photovoltaic module inverter: Test results and compliances with the standards

Reliability, safety and quality requirements for a new type of photovoltaic module inverter have been identified and its performance has been evaluated for prototypes. The laboratory tests have to show whether the so-called second generation photovoltaic module inverter can comply with the expectations and where improvements are still necessary. Afterwards, the test results have been compared with the internationals standards.     

Behavioral modeling of grid-connected photovoltaic inverters: Development and assessment

This paper describes and assesses a behavioral model for grid-connected photovoltaic inverters. The model allows us to simulate the electrical behavior of commercial single-phase and three-phase inverters in accordance with the limits of EN50160 power quality. Regarding power strategies for current inverters, both voltage and current control loops have been explicitly modeled, providing suitable simulations of the injected AC-current waveform under either power dynamics or grid voltage disturbances. Additionally, irradiance oscillations and dynamic Maximum Power Point Tracking performance have been also considered in the proposed solution. Internal inverter variables are not needed to fit the model parameters, being estimated from basic data-sheet information provided by manufacturers and simple AC-collected values from the PV power plants. This characteristic avoids any additional DC-side measurement, being a significant contribution in comparison with previous approaches.The proposed model is assessed using real data collected in Spanish photovoltaic power plants along several years. The obtained results are compared with previous behavioral model approaches and also included in the paper.     

Comparative analysis of different grid-independent hybrid power generation systems for a residential load

Demand of electricity is rising all over the world, both in developing and developed countries due to escalation in world population and economic growth. The exploitation of renewable energy is imperative to mitigate energy crisis and to avoid the environmental downfall. The stochastic nature of many renewable energy sources sets techno-economic and functional limitations in their application for covering most types of energy needs. These limitations can be surmounted if a renewable and a conventional energy source are combined to formulate a hybrid generation power system.This paper examines the techno-economic feasibility of four hybrid power generation systems applied to cover the demand of a typical off-grid residence for a 20 years period. Each one of these hybrid power solutions should involve at least one renewable energy source technology and be able to cover all load needs. Four applications are investigated for each hybrid system, accounting to different geographical areas in Greece with diverse solar and aeolic profile. A comparative analysis is followed to set off the optimal solution based on a minimal total cost criterion.     

Design and fabrication of low concentrating second generation PRIDE concentrator

Prototype first generation Photovoltaic Facades of Reduced Costs Incorporating Devices with Optically Concentrating Elements (PRIDE) technology incorporating 3 and 9 mm wide single crystal silicon solar cells showed excellent power output compared to a similar non-concentrating system when it was characterized both indoors using a flash and continuous solar simulator. However, durability and instability of the dielectric material occurred in long-term characterisation when the concentrator was made by using casting technology. For large scale manufacturing process, durability, and to reduce the weight of the concentrator, second generation PRIDE design incorporated 6 mm wide “Saturn” solar cells at the absorber of dielectric concentrators. Injection moulding was used to manufacture 3 kWp of such PV concentrator module for building façade integration in Europe. Special design techniques and cost implications are implemented in this paper. A randomly selected PV concentrator was characterised at outdoors from twenty-four (≈3 kWp) 2nd-G PRIDE manufactured concentrators. The initial PV concentrators achieved a power ratio of 2.01 when compared to a similar non-concentrating system. The solar to electrical conversion efficiency achieved for the PV panel was 10.2% when characterised outdoors. In large scale manufacturing process, cost reduction of 40% is achievable using this concentrator manufacturing technology.     

Grid-connected photovoltaic power systems: Technical and potential problems—A review

Traditional electric power systems are designed in large part to utilize large baseload power plants, with limited ability to rapidly ramp output or reduce output below a certain level. The increase in demand variability created by intermittent sources such as photovoltaic (PV) presents new challenges to increase system flexibility. This paper aims to investigate and emphasize the importance of the grid-connected PV system regarding the intermittent nature of renewable generation, and the characterization of PV generation with regard to grid code compliance. The investigation was conducted to critically review the literature on expected potential problems associated with high penetration levels and islanding prevention methods of grid tied PV. According to the survey, PV grid connection inverters have fairly good performance. They have high conversion efficiency and power factor exceeding 90% for wide operating range, while maintaining current harmonics THD less than 5%. Numerous large-scale projects are currently being commissioned, with more planned for the near future. Prices of both PV and balance of system components (BOS) are decreasing which will lead to further increase in use. The technical requirements from the utility power system side need to be satisfied to ensure the safety of the PV installer and the reliability of the utility grid. Identifying the technical requirements for grid interconnection and solving the interconnect problems such as islanding detection, harmonic distortion requirements and electromagnetic interference are therefore very important issues for widespread application of PV systems. The control circuit also provides sufficient control and protection functions like maximum power tracking, inverter current control and power factor control. Reliability, life span and maintenance needs should be certified through the long-term operation of PV system. Further reduction of cost, size and weight is required for more utilization of PV systems. Using PV inverters with a variable power factor at high penetration levels may increase the number of balanced conditions and subsequently increase the probability of islanding. It is strongly recommended that PV inverters should be operated at unity power factor.     

太阳能光伏发电技术及其应用

随着现代工业的发展,全球能源危机和大气污染问题日益突出,太阳能作为理想的可再生能源受到了许多国家的重视。目前太阳能光伏发电技术正在迅速发展,应用的规模和范围也在不断地扩大,已成为当今世界新能源发电领域的一个研究热点。本文在介绍太阳能光伏发电基本原理的基础上,详细阐述了太阳能光伏发电的相关重要技术,论述了太阳能光伏发电技术的主要应用方式和应用领域,并分析了太阳能光伏发电技术的应用前景。     

Unit sizing and cost analysis of stand-alone hybrid wind/PV/fuel cell power generation systems

An economic evaluation of a hybrid wind/photovoltaic/fuel cell (FC) generation system for a typical home in the Pacific Northwest is performed. In this configuration the combination of a FC stack, an electrolyser, and hydrogen storage tanks is used as the energy storage system. This system is compared to a traditional hybrid energy system with battery storage. A computer program has been developed to size system components in order to match the load of the site in the most cost effective way. A cost of electricity, an overall system cost, and a break-even distance analysis are also calculated for each configuration. The study was performed using a graphical user interface programmed in MATLAB.     

Modeling and testing of two-stage grid-connected photovoltaic micro-inverters

In this paper, the characteristics, design and control parameters of a 200 W micro-inverter, consisting of two conversion stages are presented; the first one is implemented by a push-pull converter, which provides galvanic insulation and adjusts the DC voltage from the photovoltaic panel to an appropriate voltage with the implementation of a current injected control. The second stage corresponds to a full bridge inverter SPWM with an average current control, which injects energy from the push-pull converter to the grid; it is synchronized with the grid and delivers the maximum power provided by the photovoltaic panel. Power is extracted through the Maximum Power Point Tracking Technique (MPPT). The micro-inverter is simulated and its behavior to irradiance variations is observed. Finally, the transient and stable responses of the implemented micro-inverter are presented. Stable and slightly underdamped output signals (voltage and current) are obtained under current panel variations.     

The potential impacts of grid-connected distributed generation and how to address them: A review of technical and non-technical factors

Distributed generation is being deployed at increasing levels of penetration on electricity grids worldwide. It can have positive impacts on the network, but also negative impacts if integration is not properly managed. This is especially true of photovoltaics, in part because it's output fluctuates significantly and in part because it is being rapidly deployed in many countries. Potential positive impacts on grid operation can include reduced network flows and hence reduced losses and voltage drops. Potential negative impacts at high penetrations include voltage fluctuations, voltage rise and reverse power flow, power fluctuations, power factor changes, frequency regulation and harmonics, unintentional islanding, fault currents and grounding issues. This paper firstly reviews each of these impacts in detail, along with the current technical approaches available to address them. The second section of this paper discusses key non-technical factors, such as appropriate policies and institutional frameworks, which are essential to effectively coordinate the development and deployment of the different technical solutions most appropriate for particular jurisdictions. These frameworks will be different for different jurisdictions, and so no single approach will be appropriate worldwide.     

Photovoltaic solar system connected to the electric power grid operating as active power generator and reactive power compensator

In the case of photovoltaic (PV) systems acting as distributed generation (DG) systems, the DC energy that is produced is fed to the grid through the power-conditioning unit (inverter). The majority of contemporary inverters used in DG systems are current source inverters (CSI) operating at unity power factor. If, however, we assume that voltage source inverters (VSI) can replace CSIs, we can generate reactive power proportionally to the remaining unused capacity at any given time. According to the theory of instantaneous power, the inverter reactive power can be regulated by changing the amplitude of its output voltage. In addition, the inverter active power can be adjusted by modifying the phase angle of its output voltage. Based on such theory, both the active power supply and the reactive power compensation (RPC) can be carried out simultaneously. When the insolation is weak or the PV modules are inoperative at night, the RPC feature of a PV system can still be used to improve the inverter utilisation factor. Some MATLAB simulation results are included here to show the feasibility of the method.     

The large-scale integration of wind generation: Impacts on price,reliability and dispatchable conventional suppliers

This work examines the effects of large-scale integration of wind powered electricity generation in a deregulated energy-only market on loads (in terms of electricity prices and supply reliability) and dispatchable conventional power suppliers. Hourly models of wind generation time series, load and resultant residual demand are created. From these a non-chronological residual demand duration curve is developed that is combined with a probabilistic model of dispatchable conventional generator availability, a model of an energy-only market with a price cap, and a model of generator costs and dispatch behavior. A number of simulations are performed to evaluate the effect on electricity prices, overall reliability of supply, the ability of a dominant supplier acting strategically to profitably withhold supplies, and the fixed cost recovery of dispatchable conventional power suppliers at different levels of wind generation penetration. Medium and long term responses of the market and/or regulator in the long term are discussed.     

Application of a combined particle swarm optimization and perturb and observe method for MPPT in PV systems under partial shading conditions

This paper explains the development of a new algorithm for maximum power point tracking (MPPT) in large PV systems under partial shading conditions (PSC). The new algorithm combines the use of particle swarm optimization (PSO) for MPPT during the initial stages of tracking and then employs the traditional perturb and observe (PO) method at the final stages. The methodology has been first simulated in two different PV configurations under varying shading patterns and experimentally verified using a microcontroller based experimental system. The integration of swarm intelligence with PO algorithm is shown to yield faster convergence to the global maximum power point (GMPP) than when the two methods are individually used. The oscillations in the output power, voltage and current of the PV system with the proposed method are the least when compared to the ones obtained during PSO based MPPT.     

Regional forecasts and smoothing effect of photovoltaic power generation in Japan: An approach with principal component analysis

Regional forecasts of power generated by photovoltaic systems have an important role helping power utilities to manage grids with a high level of penetration of such systems. The objective of this study is to propose a method to obtain one-day ahead hourly regional forecasts of photovoltaic power when regional information is available. The method is based on the use of principal component analysis, support vector regression and weather forecast data. One-day ahead regional forecasts of photovoltaic power were done for 4 of the main regions of Japan for 1 year, 2009, using hourly power generation data of 453 photovoltaic systems. The performance of the method was characterized comparing the results it yielded with the ones provides by a persistence approach and by an approach that do not employ the principal component analysis. Moreover, the expected smoothing effect on the error achieved when the regional forecasts are based on forecasts for each photovoltaic system is presented, constituting an additional reference to evaluate the proposed method. The results show that the method performed well; its regional forecasts had a normalized annual root mean square error of 0.07 kWh/kW_rated in the worst case, and the persistence approach was outperformed by at least 51% regarding the same error. The use of principal component proved to be a simple and particularly effective approach, decreasing the bias of the forecasts in all regions, and causing a reduction of the normalized root mean square error from 20.2% to 57.8% depending on the region. The proposed method also yielded results within the same level of forecasts which benefitted from the smoothing effect; the former presented a maximum variation of 10.2% of the normalized root mean square error of the latter in the worst case.     

Synthesis gas generation on-board a vehicle: Development and results of testing

The present work is focused on the development of energy-efficient internal combustion engines with minimized CO, CO₂, CH and NO_x emissions. In frame of this concept, a method for hydrogen-rich gas generation onboard a vehicle and, in particular, its application as an additive to the engine fuel was suggested and tested experimentally. For practical realization of the method, the catalysts for hydrocarbon fuel reforming to synthesis gas were created, compact under-hood mounted synthesis gas generator was designed, and integrated ICE-synthesis gas generator control system was developed. The tests proved fuel economy in city cycle and considerable decrease of CO, CO₂, CH and NO_x emissions. The prospects of the technology for the development of energy-efficient environmentally benign engines are analyzed.     

Design and simulation of the power control system of a plant for the generation of hydrogen via electrolysis, using photovoltaic solar energy

The gradual exhaustion of natural resources, particularly energy sources, and the various problems involved in their life-cycle, makes it necessary to promote a renewably derived hydrogen economy, in which hydrogen is produced from clean sources.

In this paper, the control system for an installation for producing hydrogen via electrolysis using only a 250 kWp photovoltaic generator is presented. Computer simulation was used to design and confirm its correct performance.

The results obtained ensure the installation's high energy yield.     

Procedure for optimal design of hydrogen production plants with reserve storage and a stand-alone photovoltaic power system

A procedure for sizing an electrolytic hydrogen production plant powered by a stand-alone photovoltaic system is described in this study. Our fundamental proposal is to compensate the loss of load probability of the photovoltaic system, by means of a hydrogen complementary storage. We compute the necessary hydrogen volume of that reserve storage. Using the isoreliability map of curves that characterizes a given location, we determine the size of the photovoltaic system that would be needed to generate a predetermined flow of hydrogen. Finally, we share information on our own experience relating to the design of the experimental installation at Villafría, located in the city of Burgos, Spain.     

Continuous operation in an electric and hydrogen hybrid energy storage system for renewable power generation and autonomous emergency power supply

Under the background of extensive improvement of renewable resources and demand for reliable emergency power supply, we proposed a hybrid energy storage system including an electric double-layer capacitor bank and a hydrogen system which is composed of fuel cell, electrolyzer, gas tank and metal hydride tank. Through its integration with photovoltaic power sources in a local direct current grid, we expect to obtain both of stable energy source at ordinary times and long-time reliable autonomous emergency power supply when outages happen. A three-day demonstration of the proposed system was performed. The fluctuation compensation performance of the components and the long-time stable power supply obtained by the entire system were evaluated at first, hence the configuration and the management methods of the proposed system were verified in the autonomous emergency power supply application. Meanwhile, the performance of the hybrid use of the gas tank and the metal hydride tank in the system was preliminarily evaluated, for its effectiveness verification on reducing auxiliary power for temperature condition of the metal hydride tank. Moreover, we investigated the distribution characteristics of the power and energy loss in the electric double-layer capacitor, electrolyzer and fuel cell, and their correlation to the efficiency characteristics under different conditions during the operation. The investigation results showed that the continual low-load-ratio state of the electrolyzer and fuel cell led to the low efficiency, the rare high-power occurrence of the electrolyzer and fuel cell led their demanded excessive power capacity. Thus, we proposed a solution method of shifting the electrolyzer and fuel cell's load to the EDLC, when the electrolyzer and fuel cell are in low-load-ratio and excessive high-power state, in order for efficiency increase and facility capacity reduction.     

SmartGrid: Future networks for New Zealand power systems incorporating distributed generation

The concept of intelligent electricity grids, which primarily involves the integration of new information and communication technologies with power transmission lines and distribution cables, is being actively explored in the European Union and the United States. Both developments share common technological developmental goals but also differ distinctly towards the role of distributed generation for their future electrical energy security. This paper looks at options that could find relevance to New Zealand (NZ), in the context of its aspiration of achieving 90% renewable energy electricity generation portfolio by 2025. It also identifies developments in technical standardization and industry investments that facilitate a pathway towards an intelligent or smart grid development for NZ. Some areas where policy can support research in NZ being a “fast adapter” to future grid development are also listed.This paper will help policy makers quickly review developments surrounding SmartGrid and also identify its potential to support NZ Energy Strategy in the electricity infrastructure. This paper will also help researchers and power system stakeholders for identifying international standardization, projects and potential partners in the area of future grid technologies.     

Expanding photovoltaic penetration with residential distributed generation from hybrid solar photovoltaic and combined heat and power systems

The recent development of small scale combined heat and power (CHP) systems has provided the opportunity for in-house power backup of residential-scale photovoltaic (PV) arrays. This paper investigates the potential of deploying a distributed network of PV + CHP hybrid systems in order to increase the PV penetration level in the U.S. The temporal distribution of solar flux, electrical and heating requirements for representative U.S. single family residences were analyzed and the results clearly show that hybridizing CHP with PV can enable additional PV deployment above what is possible with a conventional centralized electric generation system. The technical evolution of such PV + CHP hybrid systems was developed from the present (near market) technology through four generations, which enable high utilization rates of both PV-generated electricity and CHP-generated heat. A method to determine the maximum percent of PV-generated electricity on the grid without energy storage was derived and applied to an example area. The results show that a PV + CHP hybrid system not only has the potential to radically reduce energy waste in the status quo electrical and heating systems, but it also enables the share of solar PV to be expanded by about a factor of five.     

Optimal allocation and sizing for profitability and voltage enhancement of PV systems on feeders

This paper presents a systematic algorithm to determine the optimal allocation and sizing of Photovoltaic Grid-connected Systems (PVGCSs) in feeders that provides the best overall impact onto the feeder. The optimal solution is reached by multi-objective optimization approach. Both technical and economical objective functions are taken into account in the optimization procedure. The technical objective is related with the improvement of the distribution feeder voltage conditions. The economical objective is associated with the profitability both PV generation and potential loss reduction on the feeder. This procedure aims at finding the PV solution that yields the best compromise for the two considered objectives between various potential candidates of PVGCSs well known. The results obtained with the proposed methodology for feeders found in the literature demonstrate its applicability.