Ashden Technology | Solar PV: grid connected

Ashden technology
Solar power: grid connected

Solar photovoltaic (PV) modules generate electricity from

sunlight. Using an electronic device called an inverter, this
electricity can be fed into the mains electrical supply of a
building, or directly into the public electricity grid. Gridconnected PV systems therefore cut the use of electricity from
fossil-fuel and nuclear sources, with its associated pollution.
They can also provide backup power in places with erratic
grid supplies.
Typical cost between US$5 and US$10 per kWp.
Global installed capacity of grid-connected PV 21 GWp in 2009.
Generates 0.1% of global electricity.
Rapid market growth, about 35% per year.
Read on for more information about grid-connected PV systems, or go to our database for
films and case studies of Ashden Award winners who use them.

How grid-connected PV systems work

PV modules use semiconductor materials to generate dc electricity from sunlight. A large
area is needed to collect as much sunlight as possible, so the semiconductor is either
made into thin, flat, crystalline cells, or deposited as a very thin continuous layer onto a
support material. The cells are wired together and sealed into a weatherproof module,
with electrical connectors added. Modern modules for grid connection usually have
between 48 and 72 cells and produce dc voltages of typically 25 to 40 volts, with a rated
output (see box) of between 150 and 250 Wp.

info@ashdenawards.org
www.ashdenawards.org/winners
Document last updated January 2011

A grid-connected PV array on the roof of Cassop Primary

school near Durham, UK, supplies power and is an
excellent teaching resource.

PV modules are specified by their

watt-peak (Wp) rating, which is the
power generated at a solar radiation
level of 1,000 W/m2, equivalent to bright
sun in the tropics. They still work fine
with less solar radiation. The voltage
produced by a PV module is largely
determined by the semiconductor
material and the number of cells, and
varies only slightly with the amount of
solar radiation. The electrical current
and the power generated are
proportional to the amount of solar
radiation.

The island of Eigg in Scotland supplies most of its

electricity from a small hydroelectric plant. This
ground-based PV array is also connected to the island grid,
and helps maintain the island supply in summer when low
rainfall reduces the hydro output.

Ashden Technology | Solar PV: grid connected

In order to supply electricity into a mains electricity system, the dc output from the module
must be converted to ac at the correct voltage and frequency. An electronic inverter is used
to do this. Generally a number of PV modules are connected in series to provide a higher dc
voltage to the inverter input, and sometimes several of these series strings are connected
in parallel, so that a single inverter can be used for 50 or more modules. Modern inverters
are very efficient (typically 97%), and use electronic control systems to ensure that the PV
array keeps working at its optimum voltage. They also incorporate safety systems as
required in the country of use.
How grid-connected PV systems are used
Many grid connected PV systems are installed on frames which are mounted on the roof or
walls of a building. Used in this way the PV does not take up land that could be used for
other purposes. Ideally the PV faces towards the equator (i.e. South in the northern
hemisphere) but the exact direction is not critical. However, it is important to make sure that
there is minimal shading of the PV. The inverter is housed inside the building and
connected to the mains electrical supply, usually with a meter to measure the kWh
generated. If the PV electricity production exceeds building demand then the excess can be
exported to the grid, and vice versa.

1 kWp PV systems on social housing in Huddersfield, UK.

The systems were installed when the houses were
refurbished, and help reduce household electricity bills.

A grid connected system rated at 1 kWp (1,000 Wp) has an area of between 5 and 14 m2,
depending on the type of semiconductor. The photo shows 1 kWp systems using
crystalline PV modules, installed by Ashden Award-winner Kirklees Council.
If the PV system is installed during construction or refurbishment, it can sometimes be used
as part of the building fabric, such as a roof or wall-cladding. Ashden Award winner
Solarcentury has integrated PV arrays into a wide range of buildings.
Where space and sun are available, large stand-alone PV arrays can be built and
connected to the public grid. In 2010, the largest operating system is a 55 MWp
photovoltaic park in Olmedilla, Spain, but plants of up to 550 MWp capacity are being
planned.
Grid-connected systems do not usually include batteries for storage, because the mains
grid can accept or provide power as needed. However, if rechargeable batteries are
included, a grid-connected PV system can be used as a standalone ac supply in the event
of a power cut, to allow essential loads to keep working. Ashden winner Deng solar provided
a 9.2 kWp grid backup system for the central courts in Accra, Ghana, which maintains
lighting and thus enables court business to keep going during power cuts. The Aryavart
Gramin Bank has provided PV grid backup systems for its rural branches, so that their IT
systems and cash machines still work during power cuts and voltage fluctuations.

Solarcentury has developed PV modules that can be used

as roof tiles. Here a roofing contractor installs them on
standard roofing battens.

What are the benefits of grid-connected PV systems?

By reducing the need for fossil-fuel generation, grid-connected PV cuts greenhouse gas
emissions (and other air pollution), because no emissions are produced during PV
operation.
In the past there has been concern about the greenhouse gases emitted (embodied) in the
manufacture of PV systems, particularly in the production of ultra-pure semiconductors.
With current production techniques, these embodied greenhouse gases are saved within
two to four years of use of grid-connected operation, depending on the amount of sunlight.
PV is the easiest renewable electricity source to incorporate into buildings. The electricity is
supplied at the point of use, thus avoiding the losses which occur in electricity distribution
(these average 7% in the UK). It can be used at any scale from less than a kWp on an
individual home up to MWp scale systems on large public buildings - and is simple and
reliable. Because of this, it is a valuable way to raise awareness of electricity supply and use,
and helps highlight the potential for renewable energy. Several schools that have won
Ashden Awards like Cassop Primary School and Ringmer College have installed PV, to
supply part of their electricity and as an education aid.

PV on the roof of one the branches of the Aryavart Gramin

Bank in Uttar Pradesh. The PV is grid-connected, but
automatically switches to provide a backup power supply
when there is a mains power cut, so that the branch can
keep working.

Ashden Technology | Solar PV: grid connected

Cost
The capital cost of grid-connected PV varies between countries. As a guide, for the USA in
mid-2010 the typical installed cost (excluding tax) ranges from about US$2.2 million for a
500 kWp utility scale system (US$4.4 per Wp), to about US$9,000 for a 1 kWp domestic
system (US$9 per Wp). The PV modules account for just over half of this cost, and the inverter,
frame, wiring and labour for the rest. Costs have decreased substantially over the past three
decades.
Translating these installed costs to the cost of electricity depends on a number of factors.
One major factor is the amount of sunshine. A 1 kWp system on a South-facing roof in the
UK supplies about 800 kWh/year of ac electricity (20% of average UK household electricity
use), but about 1,700 kWh/year in California. Another major factor is how the system is
financed. For California, assuming 5% interest and 20-year payback, the utility-scale PV
system above generates at about 19 US cents per kWh, and the domestic system at about
39 US cents per kWh.
These electricity costs are higher than the consumer price for grid electricity, and
substantially higher than the cost of fossil-fuel generation. A number of governments
support the installation of PV as part of their drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, by
providing subsidies towards the capital cost, or schemes to buy PV-generated electricity at
preferential rates (feed-in tariffs)
Numbers
The global PV market has experienced rapid growth over the past three decades, averaging
35% per year. Most of the recent growth has been in grid-connected PV which in 2009
accounted for about 95% of total PV sales (7.6 GWp out of 7.9 GWp) and 87% of total
installed capacity (21 GWp out of 24 GWp). PV currently supplies about 0.1% of global grid
electricity.
The future
The price of PV modules is decreasing rapidly. For crystalline cells, new ways of processing
silicon and increased volume manufacture are driving down prices. The market share of
thin film PV is growing rapidly as materials which have been proved in the laboratory go
into volume production, and these promise even greater price reductions. However, there is
less potential for price reduction in the balance of system, and these costs will soon
dominate the overall system cost.
Because of the decreasing prices, the rapid growth in the market for grid-connected PV is
expected to continue even if government support is reduced. The market will really take off
when electricity from PV becomes cheaper than other grid sources. When PV feeds directly
into a building supply, this grid-parity price is the consumer purchase price, currently 10 to
20 US cents per kWh. A recent roadmap by the International Energy Agency suggests that
this point may be reached in sunny countries by 2020. For systems connecting directly to
the national grid, the grid-parity price is less than 5 US cents per kWh. The roadmap
suggests that even this point could be reached by 2030, and that PV could then be
supplying about 5% of global electricity.

Solarcentury installed PV as part of the replacement facade,

when the CIS building in Manchester, UK was refurbished.
The cost of PV is similar to the cost of conventional cladding
materials for this type of building, which reduces the cost
of the electricity generated.

Useful reading
http://workspace.imperial.ac.uk/climatechange/public/pdfs/GranthamJune.pdf: a useful
briefing paper on the potential for solar energy, by Ned Ekins-Daukes
http://www.solarbuzz.com/index.asp: current and historical prices for modules and other
components in the USA and Europe
http://www.iea.org/papers/2010/pv_roadmap.pdf: this IEA roadmap looks at the potential
for PV over the next 40 years.

Author: Dr Anne Wheldon

20kWp PV arrays installed by Dulas Engineering on the

roofs of factory buildings in Wales.