Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR)

Vol-3, Issue-3, 2017

ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in

Parameters Considered In Efficient

Designing Of Solar PV System
Praveen Kumar¹, D. Buddhi² & Mr. Vipan Chand Waila³
Gyan Vihar School of Engineering and Technology, Jaipur

Abstract: The proposed captive power plant under making it one of the fastest growing markets for
study is of 3 MW. The basic analysis was done on solar photovoltaic energy. (International Energy
PVSyst to study about the data entered from Agency PVPS, 2015).
various sources MNRE-NREL, NASA-SSE, and
Metronome 7.1. Various parameters considered
while designing and their outcomes have been
described briefly.

INTRODUCTION
The objective of solar power plants is to generate
clean energy, from the solar radiation available in
abundance, using photovoltaic (PV) techniques.
This energy is evacuated to a nearby grid, and
distributed through the grid network. It has been
projected by the International Energy Agency
(IEA) under its high renewables scenario, that by
2050, solar power would contribute to over 16% of
the global power consumption, and solar PV would
Figure 1: Global primary energy production, 2014 (in Mtoe)
also be the world’s largest source of electricity
(International Energy Agency, 2014). This paper is presented to show the efficient
utilization of an industrial roof/shed by installing
In the early days, photovoltaic was used to power the solar rooftop PV System. For this purpose, we
small-to-medium devices, ranging from calculators have considered various parameters like Removing
to single battery systems. However, with the rapid Mismatch Losses, PVSyst simulation for the
development in the field of photovoltaic estimation of yield energy and design of various
technology, solar PV is soon becoming an electrical equipment of Solar PV System like
inexpensive, low-carbon technology to generate Selection of String Invertors, Cable size selection,
electricity from the renewable sources (in this case, ACCB design.
the sun).
PV SYSTEM DESIGN
Solar PV electricity market has been on the steady
rise, showing a growth rate of about 33% per year, Designing of PV system mainly consists of PV
since the year 1997. The main driving force behind modules, large number of PV modules are
this rise could be associated with the market connected in parallel and series combination called
support programs in place by various governments. PV array. There are 10 strings attached in parallel
(Hoffmann, 2006) With capacities totaling 227.1 connection to Inverter of 50 KW. The inverter has
GW at the end of 2015, solar PV installations have in built DC Distribution box. One string contains
experienced a growth of over 25% year-on-year 18 Modules having power rating of 320 W
over 2014. Asia and Europe lead the global solar connected in series. That means there are 18 * 10 =
PV installations, with about 43% of all installations 180 Modules attached to Invertor 1 which are
apiece. generating electricity. There are total 52 inverters
under operation and 1 inverter is provided in spare
China leads the list of countries with PV
for overhauling. Maximum Short Circuit Current is
installations, with 43.5 GW. Germany (39.7 GW)
8.69 A and maximum Open Circuit Voltage is 44.8
and Japan (34.4 GW) come second and third in the
V at standard temperature condition.
list. India ranks 10th on the list, with 5GW of solar
PV installations. It is worth noting that India ranks
5th in terms of capacity added in 2015 (2GW),

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Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR)
Vol-3, Issue-3, 2017
ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in

REDUCING MISMATCH LOSS similar trend to the data obtained from the
NASA-SSE data, and are also
Large number of PV Module that comes in bundled conservative than the other datasets.
form has variation in their Current Value. When
these modules are combined to form a string then
the maximum current that flows out of a string For this study, we will be considering the
connected in series attains the value of PV Module synthetic data obtained from the
having lower ampere rating due to series interpolation in Metronome 7.1 at the given
connection. This was reduced by physically sorting location.
the 9378 modules through list provided by the
manufacture and tracking each module through its
pallet number. Minimizing mismatch loss increased
the overall plant efficiency by 1%. The modules
which remained with uneven current value in the
end were combined in a new string with their
nearby value of current mentioned on Module.

PVSyst
The solar resource irradiance data for latitude 12.9̊
N and longitude 80.0̊ E has been comparatively Figure 2: Simulation Result for North Facing PV Module
studied on MNRE-NREL, NASA-SSE, and
Meteonorm 7.1. After having looked at the three
datasets for above location, and comparing the
values of GHI obtained, it can be observed that of
the 3 radiation profiles, the highest value for GHI
usually comes from the MNRE dataset, while the
least value comes from the Meteonorm 7.1 data. As
this data is crucial in determining the total
generation from the PV power project, it is
important to gain a certain level of confidence on
the data being used to reasonably calculate the
profitability.
Figure 3: Simulation Result for South Facing PV Module
1. The NASA-SSE data takes in to account a
100 km by 100 km area to calculate the The Performance Ration was found to be 70.4% for
irradiation, while taking into account the North Facing PV Module and 76.1% for South
data till 2005. Given the fact that the earth Facing PV Module
has been experiencing rapidly growing
temperatures, and a changing climate for ANALYSIS OF CLIMATIC CONDITIONS
the past decade, the reliability and the
accuracy of this data is low. Climatic conditions at the site of the solar power
2. The MNRE-NREL data takes into account plant have a significant impact on the generation
a 10 km by 10 km area for calculating the from the solar power plant. While most of these
irradiation. Also, the data is published by conditions do not have a direct relation to
a government agency – MNRE – making generation, they impact the efficiency of the PV
it less reliable. Also, the GHI values modules, irradiance, moisture content in the soil,
obtained from this dataset are usually etc., all of which have a direct relation with the
much higher than those obtained from the power generated from a PV array are:-
other two sources, making the accuracy of
the data questionable. 1. Temperature
3. The Meteonorm 7.1 data is obtained by 2. Rainfall profile
interpolating the data obtained from 3. Clearness Index
various ground stations. Even at a 90% 4. Wind speeds
confidence level, the variability observed
in the data is less than 10% - at 6.4% - SCADA Monitoring System
making it more reliable than the other
sources. Also, the values obtained from
this dataset usually resemble a very

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Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR)
Vol-3, Issue-3, 2017
ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in
Each and every string is monitored through a
monitoring system so that the fault can easily be
traced.
Figure 4: SCADA System Architecture
MAJOR EQUIPMENTS USED IN SOLAR
PV PLANT
Inverter
The inverter converts DC power produced by PV
source to AC and it ensures that power from the PV
source is extracted using “Maximum Power Point
Tracking (MPPT) mechanism” to optimise the
energy generation from the solar PV modules. The
AC output of the inverter must be undistorted and
synchronous to the utility grid, usually at unity
power factor. The inverter has a monitoring and
controller system which senses the utility grid
waveform (voltage, frequency, phase, etc.) and
provides the output accordingly. The inverter is
usually capable to disconnect itself from the grid,
in case of any abnormalities/faults.
The constraints kept in mind while deciding on an
inverter are:
1. Operating range
2. MPPT window of the inverter
3. Open circuit voltage
4. Short circuit current
Considering the above factors in mind, the DELTA
RPI M50A was selected for 3 MWp plant. Design
lifetime of the inverter is at 35,000 hours with rated
power at 40°C. This is approximately 4.8 hours at
Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR)
full load per day to estimate the lifetime of 20
years.
Cable Selection
The cables used to connect various components of
an electrical system are always selected based on
the maximum short circuit current rating of the
components. If a Y-connector is being used, then
the short circuit current to be considered while
calculating the cross sectional area of the cable to
be used is twice the short circuit current of one
module.
The current carrying capacity of a cable can be
obtained from the datasheet of the cable. However,
a de-rating factor needs to be applied to this, to
account for the impact of the ambient conditions.
The de-rating factor for cables varies depending on
the type of the cable, material, insulation,
manufacturer, etc. Also, the de-rating factor is
dependent on the ambient temperature, medium
through which the cables pass through (free air,
duct, ground, etc.), depth at which the cable is
buried, etc.
ACDB
The other devices usually present in an ACDB
include multi-function meters, current transformer
(CT), and certain relays which are used to
communicate any developments in the system at
the ACDB to the central control center (if present).
Conclusion
The above factors need to be considered while
designing the Solar PV Plant.
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Vol-3, Issue-3, 2017
ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in

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