Performance evaluation of PV systems in Antofagasta

Dr. Pablo Ferrada, CDEA-UA / SERCpablo.ferrada@uantof.cl

Mg. Ing. Francisco ArayaFrancisco.araya.rojas@uantof.cl

Dr. Aitor MarzoMg. Ing. Cristóbal ParradoAntofagasta, 14.01.2015

Contents

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Location ChilePV performance analysis

Coastal zone of Atacama DesertIndustrial environment

Future investigations

Photo: ALMA, Atacama Large Millimeter Array

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Scenario

ALMA at 5058 m high: 0.3 to 9.6 mm

• High solar radiation levels, natural resources, financial and political-social stability.

• Mining industrial environment with high energy consumption, carbon footprint.

• Possibility for becoming Solar Energy reference in Latin America.

Very Large Telescope (VTL) at 2630 m: 300 nm to 20 µm

Nº of large observatories > 12 in Chile

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• “4th National Competition for Excellence Centers in Research on Priority Areas: “Solar Energy Research Center (SERC-Chile).”

• Performance Agreement for Higher Education "Strengthening the University of Antofagasta as Regional and National

Reference in Non-Conventional Renewable Energy (ERNC)" 2012.

• “Implementation, development and diffusion of the Atacama Solar Platform (PSDA) within the system of regional

technological parks”, financed by Fondos para la Innovación y Competitividad (FIC-R, Antofagasta Region).

• “Photovoltaic Laboratory for Education and Demonstration”, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ.

• Ferrada, Cabrera: SERC Grant for the Internationalization of Solar Energy Research in Chile (bifiPV-PSDA workshop in January

2015” about the Bifacial Photovoltaic Modules implemented for the Atacama Desert.

• Ferrada, Cabrera et al: SERC Grant for acquiring a h.a.l.m. IV tracer to characterize mini-modules & size-standard modules.

• Ferrada, Fuentealba, Schneider, Cabrera “Evaluation of defect patterns found in solar modules installed in Chile forcontinuous improvement of solar materials and the generation of quality standards for the location of Chile”

• Ferrada, Araya et al: Call for a tender to install 12 PV plants at U. Antofagasta and PSDA (research, architecture, generation).

Relevant projects involving PV

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Atacama Desert Solar Platform

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Collaboration between research centers (CIEMAT, CTAER, ISC-Konstanz)

Implementation and testing of solar technologies

Testing of commercial equipment, in-situ conditions of the Atacama Desert

Laboratory demonstrative of solar technologies for future researchers.

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~80 ha

~85 km~1100 over sea level

PV plants for research purposes in Antofagasta

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Soiling

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Process by which dust deposits on a surface during exposure to the environment

1. Due to gravity: sedimentation of the particles on the surface.

2. Adhesion due to: humidity, Van der Waals force and/or electrostatic.

3. Cementation with salt and other substances.

4. Others: e. g. bird dropping

Chemical composition and particle size

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PV plants at the coast of the Atacama desert: µc-Si/a-Si tandem thin films, mc-Si and mono-Si

PV plants at coastal zone of Atacama Desert

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22

m

kW

m

kWhY

kWpkWhY

G

H

P

EPR

r

f

STC

POA

STC

DC

Yr: Avg nº of peak sun hours defining solar resource available for PV plant

Yf: nº of hours that the PV array would need to operate at its rated power to provide the measured (DC) energy

HPOA: 2600 kWh/m2*year Yf,mono-Si: 1760 kWh/kWp*year Yf,a-Si/µc-Si: 1690 kWh/kWp*yearYf,mc-Si: 1590 kWh/kWp*year

PRslopemono-Si: -1.7, -3.7, -1.8 %/monthPRslopea-Si/µc-Si: -4.2, -4.4, -3.7 %/monthPRslopemc-Si: -1.8, -3.8, -3.1 %/month

Daily performance ratio and temperature

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Levelized Cost of Energy (LCoE)LCoE represents the generated electricity cost including the initial capital, the return of investment and variable cost

𝐿𝐶𝑜𝐸 =𝐴𝑇𝐶

𝑇𝐸𝑃𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙

ATC is the annualized total costs and TEP is the total energy produced.The ATC depends on total investment and variable costs (𝑇𝐶) and annualized factor (𝑓):

𝐴𝑇𝐶 = 𝑇𝐶 · 𝑓 f=(1+𝑟)𝑛𝑟

(1+𝑟)𝑛−1Where r is the discount rate and n is the lifetime of the plant in years.

1612/Full Load Hours

Levelized Cost of Energy (LCoE)

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LCoE Thin film mono-Si mc-SiClean (cEURO/kWh) 14.49 13.37 15.65Dirty (cEURO/kWh) 15.56 14.33 16.71

Thin film mono-Si mc-SiItem Value Quantity Total Value Quantity Total Value Quantity TotalModules 132.8 24 3187.2 231.5 18 4167 240 14 3360Inverters 1000 1 1000 900 1 900 900 1 900Dataloggers 329 0,5 164.5 329 0,5 164.5 329 1 329Sensors 223 1 223 223 1 223 346 1 346Structure 320 10 3200 320 6 1920 320 8 2560

O&M 1O&M 2

48.1548.15

312

48.11192.46

48.1548.15

312

48.11192.46

48.1548.15

312

48.11192.46

Others 209.18 1 209.18 209.18 1 209.18 209.18 1 209.18

Total 1Total 2

8031.998176.34

7631.797776.14

7752.297896.64

PV plants at industrial environment in Atacama

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GHI: 2540 ± 60 kWh/m2*yearGTI: 2850 ± 10 kWh/m2*yearGTI: 2640 ± 10 kWh/m2*yearTGI: 3500 ± 20 kWh/m2*year

GHI: Global Horizontal IrradiationGTI: Global Tilted IrradiationTGI: 1-axis Sun-Tracking Global Irradiation

Yf,CdTe: 1590 ± 80 kWh/kWp*yearYf,mc-Si: 1790 ± 50 kWh/kWp*yearYf,mc-Si-track :2320 ± 60 kWh/kWp*year

PRslope,CdTe: -4.3 ± 0.2 %/monthPRslope,mc-Si: -4.0 ± 0.2 %/monthPRslope,mc-Si-track : -4.4 ± 0.4 %/month

Future investigations

EVA: ethylene vinyl acetatePOE: polyolefin elastomer

Main content of the samples (%)

][mA/cm )()()( 2

0

2

1

dTISRqJ

[Nelson 2011]

Conclusions

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• High solar radiation levels, moderate temperatures and clear sky in northern Chile

• Different environmental conditions and energy needs in Chile

• Behavior of PV technologies not well known in Chile

• Soiling and interaction of materials with the environment

• Determination of LCoE for PV plants considering actual performance, and prediction for new PV projects

• Possibility to test PV devices in Atacama (performance and material degradation, electricity costs)

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Thank you for your attention