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28 pages, 3713 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimal Design of Photovoltaic Power Plant Using Hybrid Optimisation: A Case of South Algeria

by Tekai Eddine Khalil Zidane, Mohd Rafi Adzman, Mohammad Faridun Naim Tajuddin, Samila Mat Zali, Ali Durusu and Saad Mekhilef

Energies 2020, 13(11), 2776; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13112776 - 01 Jun 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2797

Abstract

Considering the recent drop (up to 86%) in photovoltaic (PV) module prices from 2010 to 2017, many countries have shown interest in investing in PV plants to meet their energy demand. In this study, a detailed design methodology is presented to achieve high [...] Read more.

Considering the recent drop (up to 86%) in photovoltaic (PV) module prices from 2010 to 2017, many countries have shown interest in investing in PV plants to meet their energy demand. In this study, a detailed design methodology is presented to achieve high benefits with low installation, maintenance and operation costs of PV plants. This procedure includes in detail the semi-hourly average time meteorological data from the location to maximise the accuracy and detailed characteristics of different PV modules and inverters. The minimum levelised cost of energy (LCOE) and maximum annual energy are the objective functions in this proposed procedure, whereas the design variables are the number of series and parallel PV modules, the number of PV module lines per row, tilt angle and orientation, inter-row space, PV module type, and inverter structure. The design problem was solved using a recent hybrid algorithm, namely, the grey wolf optimiser-sine cosine algorithm. The high performance for LCOE-based design optimisation in economic terms with lower installation, maintenance and operation costs than that resulting from the use of maximum annual energy objective function by 12%. Moreover, sensitivity analysis showed that the PV plant performance can be improved by decreasing the PV module annual reduction coefficient. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Grid-Connected PV Plants)

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21 pages, 8287 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Coordinated Voltage and Reactive Power Control Architecture for Large PV Power Plants

by Massimiliano Chiandone, Riccardo Campaner, Daniele Bosich and Giorgio Sulligoi

Energies 2020, 13(10), 2441; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13102441 - 13 May 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2628

Abstract

The increasing presence of nonprogrammable renewable energy sources (RES) forces towards the development of new methods for voltage control. In the case of centralized generation, the hierarchical regulation or secondary voltage regulation (SVR) is guaranteed by coordinated voltage and reactive power controls in [...] Read more.

The increasing presence of nonprogrammable renewable energy sources (RES) forces towards the development of new methods for voltage control. In the case of centralized generation, the hierarchical regulation or secondary voltage regulation (SVR) is guaranteed by coordinated voltage and reactive power controls in transmission systems. This type of regulation loses effectiveness when the generation becomes distributed and based on small and medium sized generators. To overcome this problem, it is important that also distributed generators, typically based on RES, participate in the voltage regulation. By starting from the methodologies already applied, this work wants to present a new method for involving distributed generators in SVR. The novelty is given by the application of an existing methodology to the new configuration of electrical grids characterized by a relevant distributed generation. The aim is to control the distributed generators (DGs) as coordinated sources of reactive power for conveniently supporting the voltage regulation. In this paper, a real large photovoltaic (PV) plant is considered. The power plant is composed of several PV generators connected through a distribution network. With the algorithm proposed, the set of generators can be treated as a single traditional power plant that can participate in the hierarchical voltage regulation. The reactive power of each single generator is coordinated in a way similar to the SVR used in several national systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Grid-Connected PV Plants)

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21 pages, 3719 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dynamic Reconfiguration Systems for PV Plant: Technical and Economic Analysis

by Giuseppe Schettino, Filippo Pellitteri, Guido Ala, Rosario Miceli, Pietro Romano and Fabio Viola

Energies 2020, 13(8), 2004; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13082004 - 17 Apr 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2771

Abstract

Solar plants suffer of partial shading and mismatch problems. Without considering the generation of hot spots and the resulting security issues, a monitoring system for the health of a PV plant should be useful to drive a dynamic reconfiguration system (DRS) to solve [...] Read more.

Solar plants suffer of partial shading and mismatch problems. Without considering the generation of hot spots and the resulting security issues, a monitoring system for the health of a PV plant should be useful to drive a dynamic reconfiguration system (DRS) to solve bottlenecks due to different panels’ shading. Over the years different DRS architectures have been proposed, but no suggestions about costs and benefits have been provided. Starting from technical subjects such as differences of the topologies driving the hardware complexity and number of components, this paper identifies the cost of DRS and its lifetime, and based on these issues it provides an economic analysis for a 6 kWp PV plant in different European Union countries, in which the dissimilar incentive policies have been considered. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Grid-Connected PV Plants)

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24 pages, 3530 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reactive Power Injection to Mitigate Frequency Transients Using Grid Connected PV Systems

by Yujia Huo, Simone Barcellona, Luigi Piegari and Giambattista Gruosso

Energies 2020, 13(8), 1998; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13081998 - 17 Apr 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3541

Abstract

The increasing integration of renewable energies reduces the inertia of power systems and thus adds stiffness to grid dynamics. For this reason, methods to obtain virtual inertia have been proposed to imitate mechanical behavior of rotating generators, but, usually, these methods rely on [...] Read more.

The increasing integration of renewable energies reduces the inertia of power systems and thus adds stiffness to grid dynamics. For this reason, methods to obtain virtual inertia have been proposed to imitate mechanical behavior of rotating generators, but, usually, these methods rely on extra power reserves. In this paper, a novel ancillary service is proposed to alleviate frequency transients by smoothing the electromagnetic torque of synchronous generators due to change of active power consumed by loads. Being implemented by grid-tied inverters of renewables, the ancillary service regulates the reactive power flow in response to frequency transients, thereby demanding no additional power reserves and having little impact on renewables’ active power generation. Differently from the active power compensation by virtual inertia methods, it aims to low-pass filter the transients of the active power required to synchronous generators. The proposed ancillary service is firstly verified in simulation in comparison with the virtual inertia method, and afterwards tested on processor by controller-hardware-in-the-loop simulation, analysing practical issues and providing indications for making the algorithm suitable in real implementation. The ancillary service proves effective in damping frequency transients and appropriate to be used in grid with distributed power generators. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Grid-Connected PV Plants)

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25 pages, 1338 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Alienation Coefficient and Wigner Distribution Function Based Protection Scheme for Hybrid Power System Network with Renewable Energy Penetration

by Sheesh Ram Ola, Amit Saraswat, Sunil Kumar Goyal, Virendra Sharma, Baseem Khan, Om Prakash Mahela, Hassan Haes Alhelou and Pierluigi Siano

Energies 2020, 13(5), 1120; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13051120 - 02 Mar 2020

Cited by 49 | Viewed by 3450

Abstract

The rapid growth of grid integrated renewable energy (RE) sources resulted in development of the hybrid grids. Variable nature of RE generation resulted in problems related to the power quality (PQ), power system reliability, and adversely affects the protection relay operation. High penetration [...] Read more.

The rapid growth of grid integrated renewable energy (RE) sources resulted in development of the hybrid grids. Variable nature of RE generation resulted in problems related to the power quality (PQ), power system reliability, and adversely affects the protection relay operation. High penetration of RE to the utility grid is achieved using multi-tapped lines for integrating the wind and solar energy and also to supply loads. This created considerable challenges for power system protection. To overcome these challenges, an algorithm is introduced in this paper for providing protection to the hybrid grid with high RE penetration level. All types of fault were identified using a fault index (FI), which is based on both the voltage and current features. This FI is computed using element to element multiplication of current-based Wigner distribution index (WD-index) and voltage-based alienation index (ALN-index). Application of the algorithm is generalized by testing the algorithm for the recognition of faults during different scenarios such as fault at different locations on hybrid grid, different fault incident angles, fault impedances, sampling frequency, hybrid line consisting of overhead (OH) line and underground (UG) cable sections, and presence of noise. The algorithm is successfully tested for discriminating the switching events from the faulty events. Faults were classified using the number of faulty phases recognized using FI. A ground fault index (GFI) computed using the zero sequence current-based WD-index is also introduced for differentiating double phase and double phase to ground faults. The algorithm is validated using IEEE-13 nodes test network modelled as hybrid grid by integrating wind and solar energy plants. Performance of algorithm is effectively established by comparing with the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and Stockwell transform based protection schemes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Grid-Connected PV Plants)

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21 pages, 1893 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Addressing Abrupt PV Disturbances, and Mitigating Net Load Profile’s Ramp and Peak Demands, Using Distributed Storage Devices

by Roshan Sharma and Masoud Karimi-Ghartemani

Energies 2020, 13(5), 1024; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13051024 - 25 Feb 2020

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3149

Abstract

At high penetration level of photovoltaic (PV) generators, their abrupt disturbances (caused by moving clouds) cause voltage and frequency perturbations and increase system losses. Meanwhile, the daily irradiation profile increases the slope in the net-load profile, for example, California duck curve, which imposes [...] Read more.

At high penetration level of photovoltaic (PV) generators, their abrupt disturbances (caused by moving clouds) cause voltage and frequency perturbations and increase system losses. Meanwhile, the daily irradiation profile increases the slope in the net-load profile, for example, California duck curve, which imposes the challenge of quickly bringing on-line conventional generators in the early evening hours. Accordingly, this paper presents an approach to achieve two objectives: (1) address abrupt disturbances caused by PV generators, and (2) shape the net load profile. The approach is based on employing battery energy storage (BES) systems coupled with PV generators and equipped with proper controls. The proposed BES addresses these two issues by realizing flexible power ramp-up and ramp-down rates by the combined PV and BES. This paper presents the principles, modeling and control design aspects of the proposed system. A hybrid dc/ac study system is simulated and the effectiveness of the proposed BES in reducing the impacts of disturbances on both the dc and ac subsystems is verified. It is then shown that the proposed PV-BES modifies the daily load profile to mitigate the required challenge for quickly bringing on-line synchronous generators. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Grid-Connected PV Plants)

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16 pages, 3086 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Why PV Modules Should Preferably No Longer Be Oriented to the South in the Near Future

by Riyad Mubarak, Eduardo Weide Luiz and Gunther Seckmeyer

Energies 2019, 12(23), 4528; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12234528 - 28 Nov 2019

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3741

Abstract

PV modules tilted and oriented toward east and west directions gain gradually more importance as an alternative to the presently-preferred south (north in the Southern Hemisphere) orientation and it is shown to become economically superior even under the reimbursement of feed-in tariff (FIT). [...] Read more.

PV modules tilted and oriented toward east and west directions gain gradually more importance as an alternative to the presently-preferred south (north in the Southern Hemisphere) orientation and it is shown to become economically superior even under the reimbursement of feed-in tariff (FIT). This is a consequence of the increasing spread between the decreasing costs of self-consumed solar power and the costs for power from the grid. One-minute values of irradiance were measured by silicon sensors at different orientations and tilt angles in Hannover (Germany) over three years. We show that south-oriented collectors give the highest electrical power during the day, whereas combinations of east and west orientations (E-W) result in the highest self-consumption rate (SC), and combinations of southeast and southwest (SE-SW) orientations result in the highest degree of autarky (AD), although they reduce the yearly PV Power by 5–6%. Moreover, the economic analysis of PV systems without FIT shows that the SE-SW and E-W combinations have the lowest electricity cost and they are more beneficial in terms of internal rate of return (IRR), compared to the S orientation at the same tilt. For PV systems with FIT, the S orientation presently provides the highest transfer of money from the supplier. However, as a consequence of the continuing decline of FIT, the economic advantage of S orientation is decreasing. E-W and SE-SW orientations are more beneficial for the owner as soon as FIT decreases to 7 Ct/kWh. East and west orientations of PV modules do not only have benefits for the individual owner but avoid high costs for storing energy—regardless who would own the storage facilities—and by avoiding high noon peaks of solar energy production during sunny periods, which would become an increasing problem for the grid if more solar power is installed. Furthermore, two types of commonly used PV software (PVSOL and PVsyst) were used to simulate the system performance. The comparison with measurements showed that both PV software underestimate SC and AD for all studied orientations, leading to the conclusion that improvements are necessary in modelling. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Grid-Connected PV Plants)

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Review

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25 pages, 2930 KiB

Open AccessReview

Grid Synchronization and Islanding Detection Methods for Single-Stage Photovoltaic Systems

by Rosa Anna Mastromauro

Energies 2020, 13(13), 3382; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13133382 - 01 Jul 2020

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3752

Abstract

Synchronization and islanding detection represent some of the main issues for grid-connected photovoltaic systems (PVSs). The synchronization technique allows to achieve PVS high power factor operation and it provides grid voltage monitoring. The islanding detection control function ensures safe operation of the PVS. [...] Read more.

Synchronization and islanding detection represent some of the main issues for grid-connected photovoltaic systems (PVSs). The synchronization technique allows to achieve PVS high power factor operation and it provides grid voltage monitoring. The islanding detection control function ensures safe operation of the PVS. Focusing on low-power single-stage PVSs, in this study the most adopted and the highest performance synchronization and islanding detection methods are discussed. The role of the synchronization system is fundamental to detect the grid conditions, for the islanding detection purpose, and to manage the reconnection to the grid after a PVS trip. Hence a combined review is advantageous. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Grid-Connected PV Plants)

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