Photovoltaic Power Station

EEE 483
RENEWABLE ENERGY

M Rezwan Khan, PhD Avijit Saha

Executive Director, Co-ordinator,
Institute of Advanced Research Power & Energy Training Academy
Professor, Dept. of EEE, UIU Lecturer, Dept. of EEE, UIU
 Introduction

 A Photovoltaic Power Station is a large-scale photovoltaic

system (PV) designed for the supply of power to the
electricity grid.
 This is also termed as Solar Park or Solar Farm or Solar
Ranch and expressed as Utility-Scale Solar System.
 Photovoltaic power stations are typically rated in terms
of DC peak output (MWP) of the solar arrays or the
nominal maximum AC output (MW) or mega-volt-amps
(MVA).
 Most of the existing large-scale PV Power Stations are
owned and operated by Independent Power Producers
(IPPs).
 Land Area required for PV Power Station

 Amount of land required for PV power station or

solar parks depends on location, slope of the site,
efficiency of the solar modules and type of mounting.
 Fixed tilt solar strings or arrays using modules of
efficiency of about 15% on horizontal sites need
about 1 hectre (2.471 Acres) per MW in the Tropical
areas and to over 2 hectres in Northern Europe.
 The best locations for parks are brown field sites
where no other valuable land use exists.
 Technology

 The Solar Parks are comprised of ground mounted

solar modules in arrays. They can be fixed tilt or
tracking, single axis or dual axis.
 Tracking type may have the better utilization of solar
power to convert to electricity, but its installation
and maintenance cost will be very high.
 The DC power output of the solar arrays is converted
to AC by inverters and connection to the grid is done
through step-up transformers.
 Solar Arrays

 Solar Arrays of the utility-scale power parks are the

subsystem which convert incoming light from the Sun into
electrical energy.
 These comprise a number of solar modules interconnected
in combination of series & parallel and mounted on
support structures to deliver power output to electronic
power conditioning subsystems.
 The majority of this utility-scale power parks are ground
mounted.
 The solar arrays of the utility-scale solar parks are of the
following types:
 Fixed Arrays
 Single Axis tracking
 Dual Axis tracking
 Avoidances of Solar Shade

 The shading on a PV module cause worst effect on

power production by shutting down the entire PV
modules.
 Again, if the module rows are not placed and tilted
properly, the shading of the front row affect the
output of the module.
 Therefore, for harnessing optimum power from the
module/array, inter-row spacing and tilt angle
should be properly designed.
 Conversion of Power by Inverter

 There are three types of these inverters; Micro

Inverters; String Inverters and Centralized inverters.

 Micro inverters are used in the individual solar panel

whereas string inverters are used for each string of
solar panels.

 The Centralized Inverter have relatively high

capacity (typically of the order of (1MWP).
 Step-up Transformers

 The Inverters typically gives power output at voltages

of the order of 480V (AC)

 Electricity Grid operates at much higher voltage of

the order of tens of hundreds of thousands of volts.
So Step-up Transformers are incorporated to deliver
required output to the grid.

 Transformers typically have a life of 25 years and

normally do not require replacement during the life
of photovoltaic power station, 25 years
 Performance of Solar Park System

 The performance of Solar Park depends on climatic

conditions, equipment and system configuration.
 There will be losses between DC output of the solar
modules and AC power delivered to grid due to the
factors, light absorption losses, inverter-array
matching, module temperature, inverter efficiency,
cable voltage drop & losses, conversion efficiencies
etc.
 All these losses are evaluated by a parameter called
Performance Ratio.
 Performance of Solar Park System

 The Performance Ratio is the measure of output AC

power as a proportion of total DC power delivered by
the solar modules under ambient climatic
conditions.

 This performance ratio should typically be in excess

of 80%.
 Design of Photovoltaic Power Station

The following steps may be taken up to design a solar

system.

a) Calculating amount of solar energy available.

b) Surveying the available site
c) Size up the solar electric system
d) Selecting the right components
e) Working out total cost
 A. Design of Photovoltaic Power Station

However, in designing a grid connected PV system the

following points should be considered.

 Determining the energy yield, specific yield and

performance ratio of the system.
 Determining the inverter size based on the size of the
array.
 Matching the array configuration to the selected
inverter maximum voltage and voltage operating
window.
 A. Calculating Solar Energy

 Solar insolation depends on geographical location.

 The tilt of a solar panel has an impact on how much

sunlight can be captured.

 If solar panels are installed flat, the generation

capacity will be highest during summer time. But
during the winter season, it will be the lowest.
Therefore, the solar panels are installed in such a
way that it can capture optimum energy from the
sun. Therefore, ideal tilt angle is chosen.
 A. Calculating Solar Energy

 it is very much important that the solar energy

system remain out of shade throughout the day.

 Solar panels will generate less power when exposed

to high temperatures
 B. surveying the available site

 Determine the solar access to site

 Determine whether any shading will occur and estimate
its effect on the system
 Determine the orientation and tilt angle of the solar array
 Determine the available area for the solar array
 Determine the suitability of mounting the solar array
 Determine where the inverter, transformer and other
equipment to be located
 Determine the cable routes and estimate the lengths of
cables to be run.
AC Energy Output
Grid Tied PV System
 Location Details

Latitude=24.094098 N
Longitude= 89.08115 E
Area at Jaynagar, Ishwardi, Pabna
Location
 Area of the Location

Total area is 8892 square meter

Calculation of Inter Array Spacing

Angle(Degree) Spacing
0 H*0
10 H*0.5
15 H*1
20 H*1.5
23 H*1.5
Solar Insolation of the Site
 Variation of Panel Area With Tilt Angle

Angle Insolation Panel Area Kwh/day

(kWh/m2/day) (m2)

0 degree 4.68 7776 36391.68

10 degree 4.90 7344 35985.6
15 degree 4.98 6480 32270.4
20 degree 5.014 5616 28138.17
24 degree 5.06 5184 26075.52
 Panel Specification
Maximum Power(Pmax) 290W
Voltage at Pmax(Vmp) 36.54V
Current at Pmax(Imp) 7.94A
Open-circuit Voltage(Voc) 44.0V
Short-circuit Current(Isc) 8.59A
Operating Temperature -40° C to 85°C
Maximum system 1000V DC
Voltage
Power tolerance +5%
Cells Polycrystalline solar cells
Weight 23.7kg
Module dimension 1.956m*0.992m*0.050m
 String

7.94 A, 657 V
 Smallest Unit (Array)

18 m

Each array consists of 2 Strings

 Multiple Arrays in One Row

54 m

Three arrays are connected in parallel

Output of a Row
 Cluster

Cluster 1 Cluster 2

Row 1

Row 6

1.5 m gap in both

side after 6 Rows in
both cluster

Row 36
Panel Area for 0 Degree Tilt Angle

Panel area is 7776 square meter

 Power Output

Cluster Generated Total No. of Total

Number Power Power Panel Panel

Cluster- .563 MW
01 1944
1.126
Cluster- .563 MW MW 3888
02 1944
 Inverter Specification

String Inverter (SUN2000-33KTL) from Huawei

Specifications
DC Input
Max. input voltage 1000 V
Rated input current 23 A
Max short circuit current per MPPT 32 A
Full Power MPPT Voltage Range 480 V ~ 800 V
MPPT Operating Voltage Range 200 V ~ 950 V
Recommended input numbers 6
Number of MPP trackers 3

Output
Rated power 30,000 W
Max. AC output power 33,000 VA
Rated output voltage 400 V
AC power frequency 50 Hz
Max. output current 48 A
Power factor 0.8 LG..… 0.8 LD
Max Efficiency 98.6%
 Why String Inverter ?

WE selected string inverter because of safety of our

plant. If we use central inverter then during any fault
occurs in plant entire system will be shut down. But for
string inverter this won’t happen. And cost is an issue to
string inverter.
CONNECTION FROM PANEL TO GRID

400V 11KV 132KV

 TRANSFORMER SPECIFICATION
400V-11kV
KVA Rating 1,000
Temp Rise (C) 65
High Voltage (Volts) 11,000
HV Vector Delta
Low Voltage (Volts) 400
HV Vector Wye
Impedance 6.1%
Rated Frequency 50Hz

11KV-132KV

KVA Rating 75000

Temp Rise (C) 65
High Voltage (Volts) 132,000
HV Vector Delta
Low Voltage (Volts) 11,000
HV Vector Wye
Rated Frequency 50Hz
Thank you