The diffusion of photovoltaic (PV) systems is not only increasing in the current global electricity market, but everywhere there are barriers that are hampering the process. In this thesis the respective barriers for the diffusion of PV systems, as well as the current electricity market of Cape Town, situated in South Africa, will be analysed. The diffusion theory is used to highlight the factors that are affecting the diffusion process. The affecting factors are: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability. In addition to this, the pre-diffusion phase focuses on the importance of the communication between the suppliers, adopters and the government in the diffusion process. Therefore an appropriate methodology was required to conduct this research, this was achieved by using a case study approach. The South African energy market was analysed with respect to the impact of policies, adopters and the suppliers of PV systems. Interviews with six local experts where conducted, to gather primary data from the suppliers’ perspective, mainly regarding how they perceive the barriers for the diffusion of PV systems. The results revealed that the diffusion of PV systems is still in the pre-diffusion stage, and faces numerous barriers. The outcomes of the analysis showed that the barriers could be categorized into four different themes namely: sociotechnical, management, economic and policy. Although the barriers could be categorized into different themes they are interrelated to each other. After analysing the results it became clear that the policies and the lack of involvement and communication of all actors, are the crucial barriers that need to be overcome for an effective diffusion process of PV systems in Cape Town.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / FundaÃÃo de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Cearà / A geraÃÃo de energia elÃtrica que combina o desenvolvimento humano com menos impactos ambientais e menos poluiÃÃo à um item fundamental no inÃcio deste sÃculo. Assim, a principal motivaÃÃo da caminhada atual à o desenvolvimento de novas topologias de sistemas descentralizados de fornecimento de energia. O objetivo à desenvolver um conversor bidirecional com alto ganho tensÃo, que à projetado para operar em dois modos: boost e buck. A topologia apresentada permite a transferÃncia bidirecional de energia, o que em algumas situaÃÃes, à transferida para o barramento CC, ou para um banco de baterias. O conversor à projetado para um potÃncia de 2 kW. à apresentado o desenvolvimento teÃrico e experimental do projeto para os dois modos de operaÃÃo. A fim de validar a proposta, sÃo apresentados resultados experimentais, para uma potÃncia de 1 kW. Os resultados foram satisfatÃrios e seu rendimento global de 93%. O protÃtipo foi testado em condiÃÃes diferentes que podem ser encontradas no dia-a-dia. / The achievement of energy generation which combines human development with less environment pollution impact is a key item in the premises of this century. Thus the main motivation of the present walk is the development of new topologies for decentralized supply systems. The objective is to develop a bidirectional converter with high voltage gain, which is designed to operate in two modes: step-up (boost) and step down (buck). The presented topology enables to bidirectional energy transfer, which in some situations it is returned to the load DC bus, formed by a back of batteries. The converter is designed for 2 kW linear load power. If is presented theoretical development and experimental designs for the two operation modes. In order to validate the proposal, it is presented experimental results, from 1 kW laboratory prototype are presented as well and 93% overall efficiency. The prototype was tested in different conditions that may be found daily.

Deep learning has proven to be a valued contributor to recent technological advancements within energy systems. This thesis project explores methods of photovoltaic (PV) system power output forecasting through the utilization of long short-term memory (LSTM) neural networks. An encoder-decoder architecture (ED-LSTM) and a stacked vector output architecture (SVO-LSTM) were compared in terms of their ability to accurately produce power output forecasts with a 24-hour forecast horizon. The datasets which were used for model training were composed of historical meteorological observations and PV system power output readings. The results indicate that the encoder-decoder model and the stacked vector output model were somewhat equally skilled at producing power output forecasts. Best results were obtained by the encoder-decoder LSTM model which achieved a 26.63% improvement over a persistence model when trained on data sequences which preceded the forecast horizon, and a 44.96% improvement over a persistence model when the model was provided meteorological data from an oracle forecaster.

Skolfastigheter is a municipality owned real estate company that manages most of the buildings used for lower education in Uppsala. The company is working in line with the environmental goals of the municipality by installing photovoltaic systems in schools and other educational buildings. Skolfastigheter are planning to install a photovoltaic system in a school in Stenhagen. The purpose of this study is to optimally design the proposed system. The system will be maximized, which in this study entails that the modules will be placed on every part of the roof where the insolation is sufficient. The system will also be grid connected. The design process includes finding an optimal placement of the modules, matching them with a suitable inverter bank and evaluating the potential of a battery storage. Economic aspects such as taxes, subsidies and electricity prices are taken into account when the system is simulated and analyzed. A sensitivity analysis is carried out to evaluate how the capacity of a battery bank affects the self-consumption, self-sufficiency and cost of the system. It is concluded that the optimal system has a total peak power of almost 600 kW and a net present value of 826 TSEK, meaning that it would be a profitable investment. A battery bank is excluded from the optimal design, since increasing the capacity of the bank steadily decreased the net present value and only marginally increased the self-consumption and self-sufficiency of the system.

The increasing awareness on the effect of carbon emissions in our planet has led to several countries to adopt targets for their reduction. One way of contributing to this aim is to use and distribute electricity more efficiently. In this context, Conservation Voltage Reduction (CVR), a well-known technique that takes advantage of the positive correlation between voltage and demand to reduce energy consumption, is gaining renewed interest. This technique saves energy by only reducing customer voltages, without relying on customer actions and, therefore, can be controlled by the Distribution Network Operator (DNO). CVR not only brings benefits to the electricity system by reducing generation requirements (fewer fossil fuel burning and carbon emissions), but also to customers, as energy bill reductions. The extent to which CVR can bring benefits mainly depends on the customers load composition and their voltages. While the former dictates the voltage-demand correlation, the latter constraints the voltage reduction that can be applied without violating statutory limits. Although CVR has been studied for many years, most of the studies neglect the time-varying voltage-demand characteristic of loads and/or do not assess end customer voltages. While these simplifications could be used to estimate CVR benefits for fixed and limited voltage reductions, realistic load and network models are needed to assess the performance of active CVR schemes, where voltages are actively managed to be close to the minimum limit. Moreover, distribution networks have been traditionally designed with limited monitoring and controllability. Therefore, CVR has been typically implemented by adopting conservative voltage reductions from primary substations, for both American and European-style networks. However, as new infrastructure is deployed in European-style LV networks (focus of this work), such as monitoring and on-load tap changers (OLTCs), the opportunity arises to actively manage voltages closer to end customer (unlocking further energy savings). Although these technologies have shown to effectively control voltages in LV networks, their potential for CVR has not been assessed before. Additionally, most CVR studies were performed in a context where distributed generation (DG) was not common. However, this has changed in many countries, with residential photovoltaic (PV) systems becoming popular. As this is likely to continue, the interactions of residential PV and CVR need to be studied. This thesis contributes to address the aforementioned literature gaps by: (i) proposing a simulation framework to characterise the time-varying voltage-demand correlation of individual end customers; (ii) developing a process to model real distribution networks (MV and LV) from DNO data; (iii) adopting a Monte Carlo-based quantification process to cater for the uncertainties related to individual customer demand; (iv) assessing the CVR benefits that can be unlocked with new LV infrastructure and different PV conditions. To accomplish (iv), first, a simple yet effective rule-based scheme is proposed to actively control voltages in OLTC-enabled LV networks without PV and using limited monitoring. It is demonstrated that by controlling voltages closer to customers, annual energy savings can increase significantly, compared to primary substation voltage reductions. Also, to understand the effect of PV on CVR, a centralized, three-phase AC OPF-based CVR scheme is proposed. This control, using monitoring, OLTCs and capacitors across MV and LV networks, actively manages voltages to minimize energy consumption in high PV penetration scenarios whilst considering MV-LV constraints. Results demonstrate that without CVR, PV systems lead to higher energy imports for customers without PV, due to higher voltages. Conversely, the OPF-based CVR scheme can effectively manage voltages throughout the day, minimising energy imports for all customers. Moreover, if OLTCs at secondary substations are available (and managed in coordination with the primary substation OLTC), these tend to regulate customer voltages close to the minimum statutory limit (lower tap positions), while the primary OLTC delivers higher voltages to the MV network to also reduce MV energy losses.

FundaÃÃo Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TecnolÃgico / With global need to reduce energy consumption, the search for more efficient technologies has become the focus of many studies. Among these technologies, it can mention the photovoltaic solar energy and LEDs, which have shown an expansion in recent decades. Photovoltaic generation is shown as an attractive energy source because it is renewable and its raw material is practically inexhaustible. While LEDs have a promising advance in lighting and is used in several applications. To integrate these technologies, this paper proposes the study of a DC-DC step-up switched-capacitor (SC) converter for LEDs applied to photovoltaic stand-alone systems. The proposed circuit differs from other topologies SC to insert an inductor in series with the input source, which can operate in discontinuous conduction mode (DCM), reducing losses switching, or continuous conduction mode (CCM), allowing the reduction of conduction losses in the circuit. The converter is driven by the frequency modulation, which is obtained as a function of input voltage. For this reason, the current in the LEDs can be stabilized without the need for sensor or feedback. The prototype developed in the laboratory was designed for a lamp of 54 W and operating at high frequency (up to 165 kHz), allowing the reduction of the circuit volume. Experimental results of the circuit in DCM and CCM show that the converter has a high yield, validating the proposal. / Tendo em vista a tendÃncia da reduÃÃo do consumo de energia no mundo, a busca por tecnologias mais eficientes tem se tornado o foco de muitos estudos. Dentre estas tecnologias, pode-se citar a energia solar fotovoltaica e os LEDs, que vem apresentando uma expansÃo nas ultimas dÃcadas. A geraÃÃo fotovoltaica se mostra como uma atrativa fonte de energia, por ser renovÃvel e sua matÃria-prima ser praticamente inesgotÃvel. Enquanto os LEDs apresentam um avanÃo promissor na iluminaÃÃo, sendo utilizado nas mais diversas aplicaÃÃes. Visando a integraÃÃo destas tecnologias, este trabalho propÃe o estudo de um conversor CC-CC elevador com capacitor comutado (Switched Capacitor - SC) para LEDs, aplicado a sistemas fotovoltaicos autÃnomos. O circuito proposto se difere de outras topologias SC por inserir um indutor em sÃrie com a fonte de entrada, o qual pode operar no modo de conduÃÃo descontÃnua (MCD), reduzindo as perdas por comutaÃÃo, ou no modo de conduÃÃo contÃnua (MCC), possibilitando a reduÃÃo das perdas por conduÃÃo do circuito. O conversor à acionado atravÃs da modulaÃÃo por frequÃncia, a qual à obtida em funÃÃo da tensÃo de entrada. Por este motivo, a corrente nos LEDs pode ser estabilizada sem a necessidade de sensores ou de realimentaÃÃo. O protÃtipo desenvolvido em laboratÃrio foi projetado para uma luminÃria de 54 W e operando em alta frequÃncia (atà 165 kHz), possibilitando a reduÃÃo do volume do circuito. Os resultados experimentais obtidos do circuito MCD e MCC sÃo analisados e validam a proposta, mostrando que o conversor apresenta rendimento elevado

This work presents a dynamic model for utility-scale PV systems. The model is based on a centralized converter topology, which uses a voltage-sourced converter (VSC) to facilitate the exchange of energy between PV generators and the utility grid. The related control system regulates active and reactive power injected by the PV system, based on a current control strategy. Moreover, the model includes a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) scheme, implemented with the incremental conductance method. Dimensioning of the model is presented as well as simulation cases to validate its performance. Subsequently, the model was used to analyze the effect of variations in solar radiation on a test network with high penetration of photovoltaic generation. Results showed that without proper compensation of reactive power, variations in solar radiation can cause voltage fluctuations outside allowable limits. Thus, in order to mitigate these fluctuations, local control strategies were implemented to allow the exchange of reactive power between the solar farm and the utility grid. Simulations showed that the proposed strategies can mitigate voltage fluctuations at the point of common coupling, improving voltage regulation in the network. / Este trabalho apresenta um modelo dinâmico de sistemas fotovoltaicos de grande escala. O modelo é baseado em uma topologia de conversor centralizado, que usa um conversor de fonte de tensão (VSC) para facilitar a troca de energia entre os geradores fotovoltaicos e a rede elétrica. O sistema de controle relacionado regula a energia ativa e reativa injetada pelo sistema fotovoltaico, com base em uma estratégia de controle de corrente. Além disso, o modelo inclui um sistema de rastreamento de ponto de potência máxima (MPPT), implementado com o método da condutância incremental. O dimensionamento do modelo é apresentado, bem como vários casos de simulação para validar o seu desempenho. Posteriormente, o modelo foi utilizado para analisar o efeito das variações na radiação solar sobre uma rede de teste com uma elevada penetração de geração fotovoltaica. Os resultados mostraram que sem uma adequada compensação de energia reativa, as variações na radiação solar podem causar flutuações de tensão fora dos limites permitidos. Assim, a fim de mitigar estas flutuações, estratégias de controle local foram implementadas para permitir a troca de potência reativa entre os sistemas fotovoltaicos e a rede. As simulações mostraram que as estratégias propostas podem mitigar as flutuações de tensão no ponto de acoplamento comum, melhorando a regulação de tensão na rede.

This work presents a dynamic model for utility-scale PV systems. The model is based on a centralized converter topology, which uses a voltage-sourced converter (VSC) to facilitate the exchange of energy between PV generators and the utility grid. The related control system regulates active and reactive power injected by the PV system, based on a current control strategy. Moreover, the model includes a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) scheme, implemented with the incremental conductance method. Dimensioning of the model is presented as well as simulation cases to validate its performance. Subsequently, the model was used to analyze the effect of variations in solar radiation on a test network with high penetration of photovoltaic generation. Results showed that without proper compensation of reactive power, variations in solar radiation can cause voltage fluctuations outside allowable limits. Thus, in order to mitigate these fluctuations, local control strategies were implemented to allow the exchange of reactive power between the solar farm and the utility grid. Simulations showed that the proposed strategies can mitigate voltage fluctuations at the point of common coupling, improving voltage regulation in the network. / Este trabalho apresenta um modelo dinâmico de sistemas fotovoltaicos de grande escala. O modelo é baseado em uma topologia de conversor centralizado, que usa um conversor de fonte de tensão (VSC) para facilitar a troca de energia entre os geradores fotovoltaicos e a rede elétrica. O sistema de controle relacionado regula a energia ativa e reativa injetada pelo sistema fotovoltaico, com base em uma estratégia de controle de corrente. Além disso, o modelo inclui um sistema de rastreamento de ponto de potência máxima (MPPT), implementado com o método da condutância incremental. O dimensionamento do modelo é apresentado, bem como vários casos de simulação para validar o seu desempenho. Posteriormente, o modelo foi utilizado para analisar o efeito das variações na radiação solar sobre uma rede de teste com uma elevada penetração de geração fotovoltaica. Os resultados mostraram que sem uma adequada compensação de energia reativa, as variações na radiação solar podem causar flutuações de tensão fora dos limites permitidos. Assim, a fim de mitigar estas flutuações, estratégias de controle local foram implementadas para permitir a troca de potência reativa entre os sistemas fotovoltaicos e a rede. As simulações mostraram que as estratégias propostas podem mitigar as flutuações de tensão no ponto de acoplamento comum, melhorando a regulação de tensão na rede.

Photovoltaic installations in urban areas operate under uneven lighting conditions. For such a system to achieve its peak efficiency, each solar panel is connected in series through a micro-converter, a dc-dc converter that performs per-panel distributed maximum power point tracking (DMPPT). The objective of this thesis is to design a compensator for the DMPPT micro-converter. A novel, systematic approach to plant modeling is presented for this system, together with a framework for characterizing the plant’s uncertainty. A robust control design procedure based on linear matrix inequalities is then proposed, which ensures robust performance and stability of the time-varying system. The proposed modeling and control design methods are demonstrated for an example rooftop photovoltaic installation. The system and the designed compensator are tested in simulations. Simulation results show satisfactory performance over a range of operating conditions, and the simulated system is shown to track the maximum power point of every panel.

Photovoltaic installations in urban areas operate under uneven lighting conditions. For such a system to achieve its peak efficiency, each solar panel is connected in series through a micro-converter, a dc-dc converter that performs per-panel distributed maximum power point tracking (DMPPT). The objective of this thesis is to design a compensator for the DMPPT micro-converter. A novel, systematic approach to plant modeling is presented for this system, together with a framework for characterizing the plant’s uncertainty. A robust control design procedure based on linear matrix inequalities is then proposed, which ensures robust performance and stability of the time-varying system. The proposed modeling and control design methods are demonstrated for an example rooftop photovoltaic installation. The system and the designed compensator are tested in simulations. Simulation results show satisfactory performance over a range of operating conditions, and the simulated system is shown to track the maximum power point of every panel.