IN SITU TECHNO-ENVIROECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF A ROOFTOP PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) BACKUP SYSTEM IN THE TROPICAL CLIMATE

Abstract

Solar PV generators are increasingly being deployed in the built environment as stand-alone or backup power systems to supply electricity either solely or during power outages respectively. Diesel generators (DGs) are applied routinely as standby power systems by many enterprises and institutions, especially in developing countries where power outages are real and frequent due to unstable national grids. The current pursuit of low-carbon and sustainable source of energy places photovoltaic (PV) power system in advantageous position as a substitute for a DG backup system. An existing off-grid 780 Wp PV system installed as a backup power supply in a learning institution in western part of Kenya was studied both experimentally and theoretically. Technical, economic and environmental analyses were carried out to determine its performance under the local outdoor conditions at the site for a period of one year in 2020. Irradiance estimation models were also validated by experimental data to determine appropriate model(s) for the site. Plane-of-array (POA) solar radiation was measured with solar cell sensor installed at the surface of PV modules and a charge controller/inverter unit with the capability to measure and log real time output current (I) and voltage (V) was used to generate I-V characteristic data. PVsyst software was used to simulate the PV system and generate optimized theoretical results for the site which were compared with experimental results. Available energy was determined as 3202.80 kWh/year, average array efficiency of 11.71%, FF of 0.66, array yield of 4.89 kWh/kW, reference yield of 5.51 kWh/kW, capacity factor as 19.8%, annual average performance ratio (PR) as 76.0%, and average array losses as 0.54 kWh/kW. Economic results for the PV system show that the payback time (PBT) is∼ 6.38 years, LCC of $3057.93, levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of0.045 $/kWh and operation and maintenance (O&M) is17.32 $/year. For the diesel generator (DG),PBT was 4.25 years and O&M was 262.80 $/year for a lifespan of 5 years and assuming that it operates 2 hours per day of blackouts, LCC of $7792.75 and LCOE of 0.324 $/kWh. Environmental results show that the total annual amount of CO2 emissions avoided when PV is used instead of DG power backup system was 5.84 tCO2/year giving an average cost parameter (penalty for CO2 generation) of $9.62. Simulation results gave the available energy as 3746.40 kWh/year, reference yield of 5.55 kWh/kW, array yield of 4.18 kWh/kW, array losses of 0.61 kWh/kW, capacity factor as 21.23%, FF as 0.68, PR as 73.6% and PV array efficiency of 13.19%. The average amount of CO2 emission avoided was 7.95 tCO2/year with annual environmental cost of $116.18. Angstrom-Prescott and Iqbal models were found to be the most accurate for the site having the lowest values of mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 8.5% and 8.9% and root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.252 and 0.302 respectively. In conclusion, technically, the low FF (<<1) indicate that the system is not operating at its optimum, which can be attributed to how the PV system was installed. The LCOE results show that PV power is cheaper by a factor of seven than that of the diesel generator, and the amount of CO2 avoided is at least 0.44 tCO2/month. The PV power presents net benefits over diesel power in all performance indices evaluated, and hence can be used as a reliable and affordable replacement for DG backup systems in tandem to the global quest to transition to clean and sustainable energy sources and attainment of the SDGs 7 and 13.