Impact of solar power producers on power distribution network

• Main Author: Kok, Chung Mun.
• Other Authors: Wang Peng
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering::Power electronics
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/40715
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Energy is essential to our society and energy demands are met by combustion of fuels such as fossil fuels, coal, oil and natural gas to release the chemical energy that is stored within the fuels. These sources of energy are non-renewable and their by-products are harmful to environment. The world is currently in an energy crisis as the natural resources are depleting. Energy prices have escalated and will continue to go up in the near future. The development of alternative forms of energy can help us free from the dependency on fossil fuels and find clean, efficient, sources of power. Solar powered systems generate electricity from sunlight and are economically superior with little maintenance or intervention after initial setup and is pollution free during operation. Grid-connected solar powered systems can displace the highest cost electricity during times of peak demand and also eliminate the use of local battery power during the times where sunlight is not available or high local demand. Such application is encouraged by net metering. For tropical regions such as Singapore, harvesting of solar energy is the most viable option as there are more days in a year with sunlight as compared to non-tropical countries. The aim of the project is to study the impact of solar power producers on power distribution network as it is the most viable renewable energy source in tropical regions such as Singapore. The investigation includes the study of photovoltaic and the solar intensity. The performances of the solar panel under different weather conditions and the orientation it is being installed is also included in the study.