SIMULATION STUDY OF A STANDALONE PHOTOVOLTAIC ELECTRICITY GENERATION SYSTEM

• Main Author: SUNDERAN, PRASHANTHINI
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Online Access: http://utpedia.utp.edu.my/id/eprint/2851/1/2010%20-ELECTRIC-SIMULATION%20STUDY%20OF%20A%20STAND-ALONE%20PHOTOVOLTAIC-BASED%20ELECTRICITY%20GENERATION%20SYSTEM-PRASHANTHINI%20SUNDERAN.pdf; http://utpedia.utp.edu.my/id/eprint/2851/
• Institution: Universiti Teknologi Petronas

The energy demand of the nation is growing rapidly as Malaysia thrusts forward towards becoming a developed nation. Generation of electricity is still heavily dependent on combustion of fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal. The emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels have led to serious environmental and climatic problems such as global warming and air pollution. The depleting nature of fossil fuels adds further constraint to the utilization of these fuels in meeting the nation’s future energy needs. The problems associated with fossil fuels initiated the interest to explore alternative energy sources that are more environmentally friendly and sustainable for electricity generation. Since Malaysia is located near the equator with monthly average daily solar irradiation of approximately 4500 Wh/m2 and average sunshine duration of up to 8 hours, the utilization of solar energy for electricity generation has great prospects. The photovoltaic-based electricity generation system (PVEGS) converts sunlight into electricity using photovoltaic (PV) modules. However, sunlight is not available continuously throughout the day. The transient nature of solar energy affects the performance of the PV module which results in the need for efficient control and storage of energy. PVEGS installation designing and sizing are crucial for optimum system operation but are complicated due to the characteristics of the energy resource and complexities of system component operation. A simulation program is developed to assist users with the designing and sizing of PVEGS installations according to the solar resource available at site for practical implementation. A PVEGS prototype is implemented in Ipoh using the design and sizing recommendations provided by the simulation program. The prototype is tested and was found to be operating up to expectation and according to the specified requirements. The simulated performance of the PVEGS has a reasonably good correlation of 84.1% with the performance of the implemented PVEGS prototype.