Performance of a 35.2 kWp Roof Top Grid-Connected Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant in Tribal Region of Gujarat: RESEARCH PAPER

T. V. Chavda; Alok Singh; S. H. Sengar

doi:10.56093/aaz.vi.166628

Authors

T. V. Chavda College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Navsari Agricultural Universtiy, Dediapada-393040, Narmada, Gujarat, India
Alok Singh College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Navsari Agricultural Universtiy, Dediapada-393040, Narmada, Gujarat, India
S. H. Sengar College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Navsari Agricultural Universtiy, Dediapada-393040, Narmada, Gujarat, India

https://doi.org/10.56093/aaz.vi.166628

Keywords:

Solar electricity, 35.2 kWp PV system, yields, system efficiencies, capacity utilization factor, performance ratio.

Abstract

In India, rooftops and underutilized lands are increasingly being harnessed for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations to generate electricity. A prominent example is the 35.2 kWp grid-connected solar PV power plant installed on the rooftop of the College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology at Navsari Agricultural University (NAU), Dediapada (located at 21.66°N and 73.59°E), in May 2018. Situated on the top floor at approximately 10 meters above ground with a 20° tilt, this project aimed to evaluate the performance and efficiency of the solar PV system in Gujarat’s tribal region. This study assesses the system’s performance from January 2019 to December 2022, during which all generated electricity was fed into the state grid. Key performance parameters analyzed include final yield, reference yield, array yield, system losses, array capture losses, cell temperature losses, PV module efficiency, system efficiency, inverter efficiency, performance ratio, and capacity factor. Over the monitoring period, the system produced a total of 202.3 MWh of electricity, with the PV modules achieving an efficiency of 12%, the inverter operating at 95% efficiency, and a performance ratio of 0.7.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Alonso-Abella, M., Chenlo, F., Vela, N., Chamberlain, J., Arroyo, R., Alonso Martínez, F.J. 2005. Toledo PV plant 1MWp—10 years of operation. In: Proceedings of the 20th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, pp. 2454-2457.

Ayompe, L.M., Duffy, A., McCormack, S.J. and Conlon, M. 2011. Measured performance of a 1.72 kW rooftop grid connected photovoltaic system in Ireland. Energy Conversion Management 52: 816-825.

Baltus, C.W.A., Eikelboom, J.A. and Van Zolingen, R.J.C. 1997. Analytical monitoring of losses in PV systems. In: Proceedings of the 14th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference held at Barcelona.

BIS. 2010. Photovoltaic system performance monitoring- Guidelines for measurement, data exchange and analysis. In: Bureau of Indian Standards, Manak Bhawan. New Delhi.

Drif, M., Pérez, P.J., Aguilera, J., Almonacid, G., Gomez, P., De la Casa, J. and Aguilar, J.D. 2007. Univer Project. A grid connected photovoltaic system of at Jaén University. Overview and performance analysis. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 91(8): 670-683.

Hegedus, S. and Luque, A. 2011. Achievements and challenges of solar electricity from photovoltaics. In: Handbook of Photovoltaic Science and Engineering. pp. 1-38.

Kamalapur, G.D. and Udaykumar, R.Y. 2011. Rural electrification in India and feasibility of photovoltaic solar home systems. International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems 33(3): 594-599.

Kumar, B.S. and Sudhakar, K. 2015. Performance evaluation of 10 MW grid connected solar photovoltaic power plant in India. Energy Rep. 1, 184-192.

Kymakis, E., Kalykakis, S. and Papazoglou, T.M. 2009. Performance analysis of a grid connected photovoltaic park on the island of Crete. Energy Convers Management 50(3): 433-438.

Marion, B., Adelstein, J., Boyle, K., Hayden, H., Hammond, B., Fletcher, T. and Rich, G. 2005. Performance parameters for grid-connected PV systems. In: Conference Record of the Thirty-first

IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2005. IEEE, pp. 1601-1606.

MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy) 2011. Performance of grid solar PV power Plants under demonstration programme. 2011, 32/54/2011-12/PVSE. [Available at: www.mnre.gov.in/filemanager/userfiles/Grid_Solar_Demo_Performance.Pdf [accessed 13.08.13]].

Mondol, J.D., Yohanis, Y., Smyth, M. and Norton, B. 2006. Long term performance analysis of a grid connected photovoltaic system in Northern Ireland. Energy Convers Management 47(18): 2925-2947.

Padmavathi, K. and Daniel, S.A. 2013. Performance analysis of a3MWp grid connected solar photovoltaic power plant in India. Energy for Sustainable Development17(6): 615-625.

Peerapong, P. and Limmeechokchai, B. 2014. Investment incentive of grid connected solar photovoltaic power plant under proposed feedin tariffs framework in Thailand. Energy Procedia 52: 179-189.

Poonia, S., Jat, N.K., Santra, P., Singh, A.K., Jain, D. and Meena, H.M. 2022. Techno-economic evaluation of different agri-voltaic designs for the hot arid ecosystem India. Renewable Energy 184:149-163. doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2021.11.074.

Poonia, S., Santra, P., Singh, A.K., Singh, D. and Kumar, M. 2024. Energy efficiency and economic survivance appraisal of a 375 kWp rooftop solar PV system under hot and dry Indian climate. Heat Transfer 2024; 1–15 doi.org/10.1002/htj.23228

Pundir, K.S.S., Varshney, N. and Singh, G.K. 2016. Comparative study of performance of grid connected solar photovoltaic power system in IIT Roorkee campus. In: Paper of International Conference on Innovative Trends in Science, Engineering and Management held at New Delhi, India, pp. 422-431. Renewable 2016. Global Status Report (REN 21), Paris, France.

Shudhakar, K. and Shiva Kumar, B. 2015. Performance evaluation of 10 MW grid connected solar photovolatic power plant in India, Energy Reports, October, 2015.

Sharma, Renu and Goel, Sonali 2017. Performance analysis of a 11.2 kWp roof top grid-connected PV system in Eastern India. Energy Reports 3:76-84.

Sharma, V. and Chandel, S.S. 2013. Performance analysis of a 190 kWp grid interactive solar photovoltaic power plant in India. Energy 55:476-485.

Sundaram, S. and Babu, J.S.C. 2015. Performance evaluation and validation of 5MWp grid connected solar photovoltaic plant in South India. Energy Convers Management 100: 429-439.

Tarigan, E. and Kartikasari, F.D. 2015. Technoeconomic simulation of a grid-connected PV system design as specifically applied to

residential in Surabaya, Indonesia. Energy Procedia 65: 90-99.

Vasisht, M.S., Srinivasan, J. and Ramasesha, S.K. 2016. Performance of solar photovoltaic installations: Effect of seasonal variations. Solar Energy 131: 39-46.