Performance assessment of 20.4 kW eco-house grid-connected PV plant in Oman

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to analyse the performance of the Photovoltaic (PV) and to study the effect of soiling on the energy generation under Muscat environmental conditions. The generated energy is consumed in the eco-house, and the access energy is fed back to the electric grid. Two-ways metre was used to record the energy taken from the grid or fed back to the grid. The system was monitored from December 2014 until today. Various performance parameters of the plant were evaluated which include system efficiency, performance ratio (PR), capacity factor (CF) and different types of PV system losses and yields. The annual average values of recorded ambient temperature and solar radiation were 32°C and 482 W/m², respectively.

The total annual energy produced was 23,595 kWh, whereas the annual average daily reference yield, array yield and final yield were 5.59, 3.78 and 3.64 kWh/kW_P/day, respectively. The annual average daily PR and CF were 0.67 and 0.15, respectively, while the annual average system efficiency was 10.3%. Furthermore, the annual average daily capture, system and cell temperature losses were 1.82, 0.14 and 2.95 h/day,respectively, with a small reduction in energy production when modules left uncleaned.

KEYWORDS:

• Grid connected PV
• dust
• Oman climate
• eco-house

Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge The Research Council, Oman and Sultan Qaboos University for providing the financial support for construction of the Eco House and providing all required equipment, sensors and tools to do research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by The Research Council, Oman and Sultan Qaboos University.

Notes on contributors

Abdullah Al-Badi

Abdullah Al-Badi obtained the B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from SQU, Oman, in 1991. He received the degree of M.Sc. and Ph.D from UMIST, UK, in 1993 and 1998, respectively. He has published more than 160 publications in many well-known international journals, proceedings of refereed international conferences and technical reports. He carried out  44 research projects and consultancy (Main or co-investigator), with total attracted fund of + US$2.2 million. His research interests include renewable energy, distributed generation, power quality, power system analysis and power electronics and drives. He is a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, IEEE, USA and a consultant in Oman Society of Engineers. He is IEEE program evaluator for Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) and External Reviewer for Oman Academic Accreditation Authority (OAAA). In 2009 he was appointed as a Dean for the Deanship of Admissions and Registration and in Feb. 2014 was appointed as a Dean for the College of Engineering, he is currently a Professor in Electrical & Computer Engineering Department in Sultan Qaboos University.