Renewable Energy Systems
Photovoltaic Systems
Source: Masters (Chapter 9)
Electrical Engineering
Muhammad Jafar
Introduction
We have discussed until now
Solar resource
How the cell behaves
• without any external control
• No consideration of load voltage requirements
We will discuss system development out of solar PV in this chapter
Three main configuration of a solar PV system
Systems that inject power to the grid
Stand-alone systems for battery charging and with generator backup
Direct feed to local loads
Utility-interactive or grid-connected solar PV system
Cells
PV may be on rooftop or part of the wall structure
Several possibilities these days (window panes, driveway)
Utility-interactive or grid-connected solar PV system
Power conditioning unit
Receives DC power from PV (current controlled to optimize power)
Converts DC to AC power at constant voltage and frequency for
• Local use
• Export to grid
Balances power
• import if PV output is not enough to meet local demand
• exports if excess
• No batteries needed in either case (may be used because of grid electricity prices)
Benefits of utility-interactive or grid-connected solar PV system
High reliability because of simplicity
High efficiency (all available solar power can be extracted)
No cost of land use
Max production at daytime (maximum price)
Disadvantages
Low priced competition from conventional sources
• Not a big issue in countries with support schemes
No power if the utility supply is down
Stand-alone systems for battery charging and with generator backup
Benefits
Cost effective compared to generator systems in
off-grid environments because gensets:
• are inefficient and expensive to operate
• Need maintenance
• Produce noise
Grid extension to remote locations can also be
more expensive than such systems
Disadvantages
Batteries (maintenance and efficiency)
Operating point is not optimal – produce what is
needed and not more
Panels usually mounted at steep tilt angles
(uniform energy supply throughout the seasons)
Maximizing energy production in a year is not a
priority
Generally, the system needs more maintenance
effort and expertise
Some effort by electricity users if they don’t want
to run the generator (demand side management)
Direct feed to local loads
No storage in batteries (can be in an overhead water tank)
Benefits
Very simple
Reliable
Disadvantage
Design effort for efficient utilization
Objectives in the upcoming slides
PV system sizing (several factors to take into account)
• Solar intensity
• Spectral variation with overcast conditions
• Ambient temperature and wind speeds
• Load types
Do this while considering which type of system we are looking at
Current-voltage curves for loads
I-V curves of PV panel or module or string does
not dictate the conditions
What does it tell us then?
Load dictates the current and the panel I-V
curve dictates the voltage then
Load I-V curve helps determine the operating
point of the panel
Intersection point of panel and load I-V characteristics determine the operating
point
Load voltage = PV voltage
Load current = PV current
Simple resistive-load I-V curve
Situation
Resistive load equations
Curve: a straight line with slope 1/R
Smaller the resistance, steeper the slope
Intersection point with PV I-V curve
changes
Power output of PV also changes
Point at which power is maximum is
called Maximum Power Point (MPP)
In fact a tool to empirically determine I-V
curve for a PV panel
Measurement of I and V for each setting
of the load resistance
Tabulation of all values give I-V curve for
a particular insolation level
Voltage and current at MPP
Vm and Im
Resistance at maximum power
Remember power delivered at Rm is only
optimal under the rated conditions
1-sun (1 kW/m2)
25 C cell temperature
AM1.5
MPP changes with insolation
The same load resistance value cannot
extract max power at different insolation
levels
Something should be done, MPPT!
DC motor I-V curve
Curve similar to that of a resistor
Circuit: R in series with a back emf proportional to speed of rotation
Equivalent circuit KVL
Speed is nearly constant even with change in load
DC motor I-V curve
Current is not able to produce enough torque to
put the motor in motion
After a certain current level, enough torque to
set the motor in motion and the straight-line
slope reduces
Superimposed on PV characteristics
Clearly non-optimal operation at different
insolation levels
No motion before solar insolation level hits 400
W/m2
200 W/m2 is sufficient once the motor starts
moving
Means early morning sunlight may be unusable
for directly feeding motors
“Linear current booster” (LCB) for utilizing
early morning light
May be enough power when insolation is
200 W/m2
Only a matter of changing the operating
point
LCB is an electronic transformer
Lower voltage means slow rotation
Still it starts pumping
And it will keep working until late in
the afternoon at low speeds compared
to a system without LCB
Battery I-V curves
Standalone systems always need batteries for dark hours
Ideal battery characteristics
Voltage remains constant no matter how much current is drawn
Curve is essentially a vertical line
Real batteries do have a voltage change with current variations
Modelled as a voltage source in series with resistance
Charging characteristics
Voltage increases as current increases
Charging voltage should be > battery voltage
As the battery charges, its internal voltage increases
Characteristics shift to right
Discharging characteristics
As current increases, the output voltage drops
Characteristics shift to left as the battery discharges
Simplistic battery model is not sufficient in certain applications
Open-circuit battery voltage is a function of
• State of charge
• Battery temperature
• Loading history
Battery resistance is also a function of
• Temperature
• State of charge
• Battery age
• Cell condition
Typical 12V battery open-circuit voltage
12.7 V at full charge
11.7 V when almost fully discharged
Example
a. PV voltage
b. Load voltage would be
This is what the PV voltage will be
Direct batteries charging without controller
As a battery charges the characteristic moves right
Battery characteristic moves to the right: less power which is good
As the day goes by, the panel characteristics move right: further reduction
Careful design may eliminate the need for charge controllers (reduction in the
number of cells)
Maximum power point trackers
Equipment which keep PV operating point near the knee of the characteristics
Called MPP trackers
A must for grid-connected systems
These are electronic circuits which change the voltage level
PV keeps operating at the optimum point
DC-DC converters
Boost converters step up the voltage
Buck converters step down the voltage
Buck-boost converters can step up or step down the voltage
An example of a buck-boost converter
The switch operates at high frequencies (several kHz)
Switch operation controlled by a control system (not shown)
Insights
Inductor current is essentially constant
Capacitor voltage is essentially constant
Switch control
Duty ratio (D): fraction of a switching period for which the switch is on
Capacitor voltage is essentially constant
Switch control
D can be changed based on system conditions and requirements (through PWM)
Assuming ideal components
Power input = power output (practical
converter efficiencies around 95%)
Average power input when switch is on
(assuming constant voltage)
Assuming constant inductor current
Power output calculations when switch is
off
Current remains constant
Input = output
What does an MPPT do
Control input current (average)
Input voltage settles somewhere on the PV I-V
characteristic
MPPT brings current average to the MPPT
point
Example
Maximum power
Desired resistor voltage
MPPT should match these two voltages through varying D.
Solving for D
MPPT comments
Voltage-current product at input and output of MPPT should be the same
I-V characteristics as a function of D
Hourly I-V curves
I-V curves keep shifting throughout the day (insolation and temp. variation)
MPP also keeps shifting
What manufacturers usually provide
I-V curves for various insolation levels and temperatures
Hourly I-V curves would be more useful to be fed to a system in certain cases
Recall
Current from PV is proportional to
insolation
Current drops as insolation drops
Open-circuit voltage also drops slightly
with insolation drop
MPP happens to be close to the knee of
the curve
Plot
Two curves, one ideal and the other
practical
Not very different at the knee of the
curve or close to the operating point
We can ignore the open-circuit voltage
reduction and draw hourly I-V curves
Example of hourly curves
Also includes I-V curves for
Battery
• Consistently below maximum power
DC motor
• Does well at full insolation but not so well during
other parts of the day
MPPT
Comparison of energy to different load types
Grid-connected systems
Very lucrative these days if proper incentives are given
Arrangement: (There may be batteries for backup in case of grid failure and no
production)
Alternative approach
Multiple inverters (one each for each module)
Simple and scalable solution
Needs synchronization of outputs though
Serviceability
Expensive DC cabling avoided
Large scale systems (modular against integrated)
Interfacing with the utility
Main DB at home is fed from the utility and the PV
inverter output(s)
PV operates at MPP
When power produced is more than consumed
locally, it is exported to the utility
Vice versa
Meter runs one way when utility is receiving power
and the other way when the utility is supplying
power
A meter capable of doing that is called “net meter”
Two one-way meters connected in parallel can
individually energy flows in each direction
Cumbersome and could force PV owner to sell at lower
wholesale price
In the end, the household pays the difference
between units consumed and units produced by PV.
Requirements for power conditioning unit (PCU)
Should be able to isolate from the grid if there is a grid failure
Serious damage can occur to the PV if not done quickly
Nature of grid interruption
Mostly transient (tree branch)
Utility breakers trip and reclose quickly
Multiple reclosure attempts are usual
An online PV during these events hinders utility recovery efforts
Also a safety hazard for workers maintaining a supposedly dead line
DC and AC rated power
Rated
DC power under standard test conditions is the starting point
1-sun insolation
AM1.5
25C cell temperature
AC rated power at 1-sun called
is the sum of rated output of all modules in the array
Inefficiencies include (responsible for reducing the output by 20-40%)
Inverter
Dirty collectors
Mismatched modules
Differences in ambient conditions
Impact of slight variations in module characteristics
Manufacturing tolerances in modules bring down the efficiency of arrays
Impact of cell temperature
Output goes down with temperature
Standard test conditions are evolving
Measure AC output instead of DC output
Inverter efficiency
Varies with inverter loading
Usual efficiency above 90% except at very low load
Example
Measurements on actual PV systems have revealed AC power to be between 53%
and 70% of DC rated power under standard test conditions
The “peak-hours” approach to estimating PV performance
PV efficiency depends on two things
Component efficiencies (panel, inverter etc.)
Availability of resource (solar insolation)
Insolation data is available or can be measured
Usually provided average daily, monthly, or yearly insolation in kWh per sq. m.
per day
e.g. insolation of 5.6 kWh/sq.m per day means
5.6 h/day with 1-sun insolation
5.6 h/day of peak sun
If we know power delivered by a system under 1-sun condition, we can estimate
the output energy by multiplying insolation value by the panel rated output
Energy delivered in a day
Area of PV array
average system efficiency
Power delivered under 1-sun by a system
efficiency under 1-sun conditions
Combine
We get
If
The equation
Assumes system efficiency remains constant throughout the day
Why: MPPT
Example
Capacity factors for PV grid-connected systems
Two important power plant specs.
Rated power
Capacity factor (CF)
• fraction of time for which rated power is supplied
• e.g. a CF of 0.4 means energy equivalent of rated power delivered at 40% of the time in a period
• It also means 40% of rated power delivered for all the time
Equation governing annual performance
Combine
CF for solar PV plant
Sample CFs for various US cities