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Optimization of utility scale photovoltaic orientation parameters for deregulated energy markets in northern latitudes

University of British Columbia

In certain jurisdictions worldwide, such as Alberta, the energy market is deregulated, and electricity prices fluctuate every hour. Utility scale distributed generation, such as solar photovoltaic (PV) parks, are paid these prices for the amount of energy they generate every hour. Traditionally PV systems have been designed to maximize the total energy they produce. However, when maximizing the total value of the solar park other factors become important, such as servicing peak electricity loads and maximizing return on investment. This study aims to increase the value of PV by maximizing the annual revenue as opposed to the annual electricity generation by determining the optimum orientation parameters, such as azimuth and tilt. This optimization was accomplished by taking the standard physics model of a PV cell and determining its total energy output based on the relevant environmental data. This output was then adjusted for all the losses typically encountered in a real-world PV system, such as inter-row shading, temperature, inverters, etc. Then the historical hourly electricity rates of the region were used to calculate the annual financial performance of the system. To find out the optimum parameters, a multi-variable simulation was performed which simulated 200 different orientation parameters for each system. This simulation was then run for 32 different real-world PV system configurations. The results indicate that for PV systems in northern Alberta the optimum tilt is similar to traditionally accepted values, however the optimum azimuth is generally 15° westward of what is typically installed. The average overall gain using these optimized parameters is about 1% of total revenue, which is realized with a zero increase in cost. In conclusion, this study provides a tool to harness the most value out of PV solar parks in deregulated energy markets.

Text

2020-05-14

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/74452

Electrical Engineering

University of British Columbia

UBCO

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/