Master of Science / Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering / Medhat M. Morcos / Solar energy is the energy that is basically obtained from the sun. It is used for purposes of generating electricity by using solar thermal systems of photovoltaic panels. This report discusses the utilization of solar energy in Kuwait for purposes of generating electricity. The report is divided into six chapters. Chapter 1 discusses the introduction, which will be limited to the use of electricity in Kuwait and the possibilities of utilizing solar energy as a renewable source of energy to generate electricity. Chapter 2 discusses the background of the use of solar energy, where the reasons and the advantages of using solar energy are analyzed. Chapter 3 gives an in-depth discussion on solar energy. The generation of electricity from photovoltaic solar panels and solar thermal electricity systems are presented. Chapter 4 discusses the comparison between solar power farm and natural gas with the aid of data from Kuwait. Chapter 5 gives a discussion on the use of solar energy in Kuwait. Chapter 6 includes the conclusions and recommendations for future work.

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Bibliography: pages 98-103. / The thesis presented is a study of the absorption characteristics of diffusely and specularly reflecting V-grooved surfaces. Concepts are developed for the so-called "apparent" absorptance of a V-groove cavity, as well as for the "effective" absorptance of a V-grooved surface. These concepts are formulated in closed form mathematical equations, which facilitate both the optimization of V-grooved surfaces and their engineering design. In order to verify the theoretical analysis, experiments are carried out on 34 V-grooved brass specimens. In addition, the experiments are meant to provide information about the behaviour of such surfaces used for solar energy collection. For that purpose, the specimens are exposed to simulated sunlight, and their effective absorptances, as well as their absorption efficiencies, are determined by a calorimetric method. The highlights among the results are: 1. V-grooves - carefully optimized and applied to a solar energy absorbing surface - can raise its absorptance almost to unity and improve its absorption efficiency. 2. Best performances at elevated temperatures can be expected from using metal surfaces which are provided with specular V-grooves having a small groove angle (< 30⁰). 3. The optimal groove angle is dependent on (1) the reflection properties of the surface, (2) the absorptance of the surface material, and (3) the ratio of groove depth to width of land which occurs between grooves.

The optimization of photovoltaic (PV) power generation system requires an accurate system performance model capable of validating the PV system optimization design. Currently, many commercial PV system modeling programs are available, but those programs are not able to model PV systems on a distorted ground level. Furthermore, they were not designed to optimize PV systems that are already installed. To solve these types of problems, this thesis proposes an optimization method using model simulations and a MATLAB-based PV system performance model. The optimization method is particularly designed to address partial shading issues often encountered in PV system installed on distorted ground. The MATLAB-based model was validated using the data collected from the Cal Poly Gold Tree Solar Field. It was able to predict the system performance with 96.4 to 99.6 percent accuracy. The optimization method utilizes the backtracking algorithm already installed in the system and the pitch distance to control the angle of the tracker and reduces solar panels partial shading on the adjacent row to improve system output. With pitch distances reduced in the backtracking algorithm between 2.5 meters and 3 meters, the inverter with inter-row shading can expect a 10.4 percent to 28.9 percent increase in power production. The implementation and calibration of this optimization method in the field this spring was delayed due to COVID-19. The field implementation is now expected to start this summer.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OFLaith A. Zeinaldeen, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES – Renewable Energy, presented on November 2, 2020, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.TITLE: ESTIMATING THE PERFORMANCE OF HYBRID (MONOCRYSTALLINE PV - COOLING) SYSTEM USING DIFFERENT FACTORSMAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Logan O. ParkAmbient temperature significantly affects photovoltaic (PV) panel performance. High temperature reduces PV panel efficiency, fill factor, and maximum power, driving up solar electrical system investment return period by increasing startup cost. Using a proper cooling system to cool down the PV panel temperature, especially during the summer season, will improve the PV panel performance, enhance its longevity, and accelerate the startup cost recovery to the solar electrical system. This dissertation presents two studies about monocrystalline PV panels. The studies used two general objectives: (i) study the best cooling period and water nozzle type to improve the monocrystalline PV panel output; and (ii) evaluating the performance of the monocrystalline PV panel using different cooling systems, other water pump discharge, and various water types during different times of day. In the first study (chapter 4), an experiment was conducted during July 2018 to determine Effect of using different cooling periods and different water nozzle types on the fill factor, efficiency, and the maximum power of monocrystalline PV panel. This experiment used two factors. The first factor was the cooling periods, which included three levels of PV panel cooling periods (5, 15, and 30 minutes). The second factor was water nozzle type: hollow cone and flat fan.In the second study (chapters 5, 6, and 7), an experiment was conducted during July and August 2018 to determine Effect of using different factors on the performance of monocrystalline PV panel at a site belong to the College of Agriculture – Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL. This experiment used four factors. The first factor was the time of day, the second factor was the cooling system, the third factor was the water pump discharge, and the fourth factor was the water type. The present studies' principal findings were: (i) the first experiment, the 15 minutes cooling period achieved the highest PV panel fill factor (0.795). In comparison, the 30 minutes cooling period reached the highest panel efficiency (18.6%) and maximum power (92.5 Watt). In contrast, the 5 minutes cooling period achieved the lowest PV panel fill factor (0.720), lowest panel efficiency (12.9%), and most insufficient panel maximum power (63.5 Watt). The hollow cone water nozzle achieved the highest panel fill factor (0.783), highest panel efficiency (16.60%), and the most elevated PV panel maximum power (82.8Watt). Interaction between the cooling and water nozzle types was non-significant on PV panel fill factor, significant on panel efficiency, and highly significant on PV panel maximum power. The interaction results between the cooling period and nozzle type demonstrate that the hollow cone nozzle with 30 minutes cooling period achieved the highest panel fill factor, highest panel efficiency, and the most elevated panel maximum power. The flat fan with a 5-minute cooling period achieved the lowest fill factor, lowest panel efficiency, and most insufficient panel maximum power. Tukey test results showed a highly significant difference (P < 0.0001) between the cooling period and the control treatment, and between the nozzle type treatment and the control treatment on panel fill factor, efficiency, and panel maximum power. Cooling periods have the most considerable effect on panel fill factor, panel efficiency, and maximum panel power, followed by the nozzle type. (ii) The second experiment results showed, the first cooling system (HC1) achieved the highest PV panel maximum power (77.0Watt), highest fill factor (0.745), highest PV panel efficiency (14.75%), highest average net energy (39.5Wh), highest PV panel energy (189.0 Wh) and highest average power gain (34.6Watt) comparing to the rest of the cooling systems. In comparison, the fourth (FtF2) achieved the lowest maximum power (58.0 Watt), lowest fill factor (0.653), lowest average efficiency (11.6%), lowest average net energy (-4.0Wh), lowest average energy (147.5Wh), and lowest average power gain (17.5 Watt). The fifth cooling system (SP) achieved the least average water consumption (2.0 L / hr.), while the second cooling system (HC2) achieved the highest average water consumption (39.0 L / hr.). The medium water pump discharge (M) produced the most elevated PV panel maximum power (67.6 Watt), highest fill factor (0.709), highest average PV panel efficiency (13.28%), highest average PV panel net energy (18 Wh), highest average PV panel energy (169.0Wh) and the highest average PV panel power gain (25.9Watt). High water pump discharge (H) achieved the lowest maximum power (63.8Watt), lowest average panel efficiency (12.48%), lowest average net energy (7.5Wh), lowest average panel energy (159.5Wh), and the lowest average power gain (21.8 Watt). The low water pump discharge (L) achieved the lowest panel fill factor (0.698). Lake water achieved the highest panel maximum power (66.1Watt), lowest PV panel fill factor (0.698), highest panel efficiency (12.94%), lowest net energy (12.8 Wh), highest panel energy (165.2 Wh), and lowest power gain (23.5Watt). In contrast, city water achieved the most elevated PV panel fill factor (0.708), most insufficient panel maximum power (64.8 Watt), highest average PV panel net energy (14.8 Wh), lowest efficiency (12.62%), highest average PV panel power gain (24.25 Watt) and lowest panel energy (162.1 Wh). Tukey post hoc difference testing showed highly significant differences (P < 0.0001) between the time of day, cooling system, water pump discharge, water type treatments, and their control treatment on PV panel maximum power, fill factor, panel efficiency, panel net energy, panel energy, power gain, and the system water consumption. The cooling system has the most considerable effect on PV panel maximum power, panel fill factor, panel efficiency, panel net energy, panel energy, panel power gain, and the system water consumption. In general, using the cooling system improves the PV panel performance through enhancing the PV panel efficiency, maximum panel power, panel fill factor, panel net energy, panel energy, and PV panel power gain. Keywords: Cooling system, cooling periods, water pump discharge, water type, time of day, efficiency, maximum power, fill factor, net energy, panel energy, PV panel power gain, and cooling system water consumption.

Non-imaging Fresnel lenses have been playing an important role in improving the efficiency of the solar energy systems. Many researchers and scientists have devoted their research to optimize the design of the Fresnel lenses. Before it can contribute to energy efficiency increase, a Fresnel lens with optimized design will first need to be fabricated with the most cost-effective method as well as the best quality fabrication as possible. If targeted in a commercial market, feasibility of mass production with a minimum fabrication time would also be a consideration. To bring the design optimization of a Fresnel lens from a conceptual theory to a real-life increase in energy efficiency, the lens needs to be fabricated, tested, compared, and analyzed. This research thesis is intended to explore the performance of the lenses with optimized design through experimental investigations. The design optimization was achieved by a previous PhD student at UNT. A total of six lenses fabricated with four different methods along with two purchased lenses were tested with two different approaches. Multiple testing routes were conducted within a 10-month period to observe the effects of material decomposition and degradation on the lens performance. The resulting experimental data has provided a solid base for analyzing the performance of the lenses, in particular, the energy conversion efficiency increase of the solar cell by using each lens. The potential cause of the performance variation can be extracted from the comparison and evaluation.

This work shows a laboratory based demonstration that elastic scattering from a layer of wavelength-sized particles can be used to concentrate sunlight for use in photovoltaic power production. The concentrator design consists of a layer of particles dispersed across a mirrored glass plate. Photovoltaic cells line the edges of the plate, which receive light that is coupled into the plate via scattering by the particles and confined thereafter by total internal reflection. All materials used to construct the concentrator are low-cost off-the-shelf items typically available at hardware stores. The net power produced is compared to a single, bare cell that is directly illuminated by the same light source. This comparison shows a promising trend in terms of overall concentrator size that may eventually yield a concentrator capable of producing more power than that produced by the same amount of cell material under direct illumination.

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