Performance and value of geometric solar arrays subject to cyclical electricity prices and high solar penetration
department or school: Applied Science, Faculty of
department or school: Engineering, School of (Okanagan)
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCO
creator: Boivin, Adrian Benoit Gordon
issued: 2019-10-21T16:49:51Z
issued: 2019
related degree: Master of Applied Science - MASc
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: The shift away from fossil-fuel-based electricity generation due to environmental concerns has raised substantial interest in photovoltaic generation. However, the intermittent nature of photovoltaic generation has raised significant concerns when it is implemented at high penetration levels. As the production of photovoltaic electricity is based on the sunâs position and weather conditions, rather than electricity demand, large amounts of photovoltaic generation can lead to dramatically fluctuating electricity prices and electrical grid instability. This work examines the optimization of solar generating arrays using a value-based metric, in order to maximize the profit obtained rather than maximizing the power generated as is traditionally done. Such an optimization can serve to reduce the negative societal effects of high photovoltaic penetration while increasing the economic benefits of the array. This optimization is applied here to geometric solar arrays, being simple, infinitely tileable geometric arrangements of square crystalline silicon solar cells. The optimal configuration under present conditions in southern California is found to be rows of solar cells facing 15° west of south, angled at 21° above horizontal, and with a spacing between rows equal to 136% of the height of the rows. While this work does not provide sufficient investigation into the long-term trends of value-based metrics to provide a recommendation for new photovoltaic installations, it strongly supports the use of such metrics for analysis and sets a base for the additional research necessary to incorporate them optimally into future design work.
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/71997
note: Performance and Value of Geometric Solar Arrays Subject to Cyclical Electricity Prices and High Solar Penetration by Adrian Benoit Gordon Boivin B.A.Sc., The University of British Columbia, 2016 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF APPLIED SCIENCE in THE COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Electrical Engineering) The University of British Columbia (Okanagan) October 2019 © Adrian Benoit Gordon Boivin, 2019 ii Committee Recommendation Form The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the College of Graduate Studies for acceptance, a thesis/dissertation entitled: Performance and Value of Geometric Solar Arrays Subject to Cyclical Electricity Prices and High Solar Penetration submitted by in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of . Master of Applied Science Dr. Jonathan F. Holzman Supervisor Dr. Wilson Eberle Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Liwei Wang Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Alexander Uhl University Examiner Adrian Benoit Gordon Boivin iii Abstract The shift away from fossil-fuel-based electricity generation due to environmental concerns has raised substantial interest in photovoltaic generation. However, the intermittent nature of photovoltaic generation has raised significant concerns when it is implemented at high penetration levels. As the production of photovoltaic electricity is based on the sunâs position and weather conditions, rather than electricity demand, large amounts of photovoltaic generation can lead to dramatically fluctuating electricity prices and electrical grid instability. This work examines the optimization of solar generating arrays using a value-based metric, in order to maximize the profit obtained rather than maximizing the power generated as is traditionally done. Such an optimization can serve to reduce the negative societal effects of high photovoltaic penetration while increasing the economic benefits of the array. This optimization is ap…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2020-02
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0384586
language: eng
degree discipline: Electrical Engineering
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/71997