The objective of the proposed research is to develop low-cost, screen-printed 20% efficient silicon solar cells. In the first part of this thesis, a ~19% efficient, screen-printed cell was fabricated using the commercially-dominant aluminum back surface field (Al-BSF) cell structure. Device modeling was then used to determine that increasing the efficiency to 20% required improvements in both back surface passivation and rear reflectance. In the second part of this thesis, a passivated, transparent boron BSF (B-BSF) structure was proposed as a high-throughput method for realizing these improvements. The first step in fabricating the proposed B-BSF cell involved the successful development of a water-based, spin-on solution of boric acid as a low-cost, non-toxic and non-pyrophoric alternative to common boron diffusion sources such as boron tribromide. A review of the literature shows that a common problem with boron diffusion is severe bulk lifetime degradation, with Fe contamination being commonly speculated as the cause. An experimental study was therefore devised in which the impact of boron diffusion and subsequent cell process steps on the bulk lifetime and bulk iron contamination was tracked. From this study, a model for boron diffusion-induced Fe contamination was developed along with methods for gettering Fe from the substrate. A key achievement of this thesis was the discovery of a novel, negatively charged, aluminum-doped spin-on glass (SOG) which can, in a short thermal step, simultaneously getter Fe and provide stable, high-quality passivation of planar, boron-diffused Si surfaces. Since past attempts at achieving low-cost, high-efficiency, boron-diffused cells have suffered from bulk lifetime degradation and difficulties with passivating a boron-diffused Si surface, the Al-doped SOG provides a solution to both challenges. Since a high rear reflectance is important for achieving high-efficiencies, an experimental study of various reflectors was undertaken and a silver colloid material was found which exhibits both high electrical conductivity and Lambertian reflectance >95%. The work on boric acid diffusion, iron gettering, surface passivation and rear reflectors was successfully integrated into a 20.2% efficient, screen-printed, B-BSF cell fabricated on 300 µm thick, p-type float-zone (FZ) Si wafers. Both device theory and modeling was used to show that, due to its well-passivated surfaces, this cell would suffer a large loss in efficiency due to light-induced degradation (LID) if it were fabricated on commercial p-type Czochralski (Cz) Si substrates. Since n-type Si substrates do not suffer from LID, the p-type process was slightly tweaked and applied to n-type FZ wafers, resulting in 20.3% efficient cells on 190 µm thick wafers. Computer modeling shows that both the p-type and n-type cells can maintain efficiencies of 20% for wafers as thin as 100 µm.

Der Freistaat Sachsen verfügt über große Potenziale hinsichtlich der Elektrizitätserzeugung aus Windkraft, Photovoltaik, sowie Biogas aus landwirtschaftlicher Biomasse. Im Rahmen dieser großteilig auf geographischen Informationssystemen (GIS) basierenden Analyse wird für die Ermittlung des wirtschaftlichen Potenzials bei Windenergie und Photovoltaik jeweils die EEG-Vergütung nach dem EEG 2012 bei Inbetriebnahme der Anlagen im Jahr 2013 herangezogen. Bei voller Ausschöpfung aller Flächen beträgt das Potenzial etwa 43% des Bruttostrombedarfes in Sachsen. Neben dem Potenzial zur Stromerzeugung entspricht das technische Potenzial an Biogas von Überschussflächen nach Abzug des Bedarfes an Biomasse zur Nahrungs- und Futtermittelproduktion ca. 20,5% des Erdgasverbrauches im Freistaat. Bei selben Annahmen können in einem alternativen Nutzungspfad ca. 4,5 TWh an Biokraftstoffen hergestellt werden. Im Einzelnen können durch die Nutzung von Windenergie zwischen 4,3 und 9,9 TWh ohne Berücksichtigung von Waldflächen an Elektrizität pro Jahr bereitgestellt werden. Wird eine Turbine einer höheren Leistungsklasse unterstellt, wie dies für die nächsten Jahre projiziert wird, liegt das wirtschaftliche Potenzial sogar bei 22,6 TWh. Das wirtschaftliche Potenzial zur Stromerzeugung durch Photovoltaik auf Dachflächen liegt bei 3,5 TWh. Im Gegensatz zum wirtschaftlichen Potenzial bei der Windenergie und der Photovoltaik, handelt es sich bei der Biomasse um das technische Potenzial.

Στην παρούσα εργασία, γίνεται μια παραμετρική διερεύνηση για το σχεδιασμό αυτόνομων φωτοβολταϊκών συστημάτων για περιοχές της νοτίου Ελλάδος. Ο όρος «αυτόνομα», αναφέρεται στα φωτοβολταϊκά συστήματα τα οποία λαμβάνουν την ηλιακή ενέργεια, την μετατρέπουν σε ηλεκτρική ενέργεια και εν συνεχεία μέσα από διάφορες ηλεκτρικές διατάξεις (μετατροπείς DC/DC, DC/AC κ.ά.) τροφοδοτούν είτε απευθείας είτε μέσω συσσωρευτών, το απαιτούμενο φορτίο. Μερικές κύριοι παράμετροι που μελετώνται είναι η κλίση της φωτοβολταϊκής συστοιχίας, η επιφάνεια της, το μέγεθος συσσωρευτών κ.ά.. Η μελέτη αυτή λαμβάνει χώρα για εφτά πόλεις τις νοτίου Ελλάδας, με δεδομένα την ηλιακή ενέργεια που φθάνει σε κάθε πόλη για κάθε μήνα του χρόνου. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, στο κεφάλαιο 1, γίνεται μια εισαγωγή στην ηλεκτρική ενέργεια και στις ανανεώσιμες πηγές ενέργειας. Στο κεφάλαιο 2, μελετάται το φωτοβολταϊκό φαινόμενο και γενικότερα τα φωτοβολταϊκά κύτταρα. Στο κεφάλαιο 3, μελετάται η σύνδεση πολλών φωτοβολταϊκών κυττάρων για το σχηματισμό ενός πλαισίου, ενός πάνελ ή μιας συστοιχίας. Στο κεφάλαιο 4, γίνεται αναφορά στα διάφορα είδη συσσωρευτών που υπάρχουν στα φωτοβολταϊκά συστήματα. Στο επόμενο 5ο κεφάλαιο, μελετάται η ηλιακή ακτινοβολία και πως μεταβάλλεται αυτή ανάλογα με τη κλίση της επιφάνειας πρόσπτωσης, και επίσης ποια είναι η βέλτιστη κλίση της συστοιχίας. Τέλος, στα κεφάλαια 6 και 7, γίνεται η παραμετρική διερεύνηση για το σχεδιασμό αυτόνομων Φ/Β συστημάτων. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, στο 6ο μελετάται η επίδραση των διαφόρων παραμέτρων για ετήσια λειτουργία του συστήματος, ενώ στο 7ο, για θερινή λειτουργία. / The present work presents a research on the parameters of autonomous photovoltaic systems for regions of south Greece. The term "autonomous" is referred to photovoltaic systems which receive solar power, they convert it into electric power and after that, through various electrical devices (converters DC/DC, DC/AC etc.) they feed either directly, or through batteries, the required load. Some main parameters that are studied are the tilt angle and surface of the photovoltaic array, the size of the batteries, etc. This research is carried out for seven cities of south Greece, with incoming data the solar radiation that arrives in every city for every month of the year. 5 More specifically, in chapter 1, there is an introduction about electric power and renewable energy sources. In chapter 2, it is studied what the photovoltaic effect is and generally the photovoltaic cells. In chapter 3, there is a research about connecting many photovoltaic cells, which are more commonly known as panels or arrays. Chapter 4 is dealt with to the various types of batteries that are used in the photovoltaic systems. In chapter 5, the solar radiation is studied and how it changes depending on the tilt angle of the surface of incidence and also which is the optimal inclination of the array. Finally, in chapters 6 and 7, there is a parametric research on the design of autonomous PV systems. More precisely, in chapter 6 is studied the effect of various parameters on the design of the system when the system is operating during the whole year, while in chapter 7, when the system is operating only during the summer period.

Os inversores utilizados no sistema fotovoltaico conectados à rede (SFCR) devem apresentar uma forma de onda senoidal nos seus terminais de saída. Monitoram regularmente a qualidade de energia da rede elétrica aos quais estão conectados, de maneira a só gerarem energia se a rede estiver com tensão. Dependendo do inversor, da potência que ele está desenvolvendo em relação à sua potência nominal, da rede ao qual está conectado e das características da carga que ele alimentará, podem ser apresentadas distorções na rede de energia em relação à forma de onda senoidal pura, tanto a nível de tensão como a nível de corrente elétrica. Não é incomum os dispositivos que são conectados a redes apresentarem-se como geradores de harmônicos, principalmente os eletrônicos. Estas distorções, conhecidas na literatura como distorções harmônicas, afetam o desempenho dos inversores quando ligados a redes elétricas. Nestas redes, como pode haver distorções significativas. Os parâmetros elétricos que os inversores se baseiam para obter as características da rede a qual estão conectados,devido a estas distorções, podem fazer com que os mesmos se desconectem. O inversor também se desconectará automaticamente da rede ao perceber a ocorrência de variação acentuada da rede ou a falta dela; a esse sistema, dá-se a denominação antiilhamento. Portanto, é de bastante importância que se consiga reproduzir teoricamente o comportamento das cargas e das redes elétricas, nas quais os inversores serão conectados para que seja possível estudá-los quando interligados às diferentes cargas. Entretanto, devido ao inversor ser também um equipamento eletrônico baseado em fonte chaveada para “remontar” a onda senoidal, o mesmo também acaba introduzindo uma deformação tanto na tensão como na corrente da rede elétrica ao qual está conectado, e esta deformação é também significativa em SFCR de grande porte (instalação de geração fotovoltaica com grande número de inversores). Assim, este trabalho visa implementar a modelagem de cargas não lineares (degradadoras da qualidade de energia) para serem aplicadas em simulações de inversores de SFCR, com aplicação especial no parâmetro “cargas” do programa para computadores FVCONECT desenvolvido pelo Laboratório de Energia Solar da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. / It is known that the inverters used in photovoltaic systems connected to mains power (SFCR), when connected to the power grid, should provide a sinusoidal waveform at its output terminals. The photovoltaic systems inverters regularly monitor the power grid quality they are connected to, so they generate power only if the grid of the Concessionaire or external power grid presents voltage. Depending on the inverter, on the power that it develops over the same rated power, on the power grid it is connected to and on the characteristics of the load that it also feeds, it is possible to occur certain distortions on the power grid compared to pure sine waveform, in terms of voltage or even in terms of electric current. The devices connected to grid commonly present themselves as harmonic generators. The loads cause large distortions in the power grid causing disorders occur both voltage and current in a distribution line or power circuit. These distortions, commented in the literature as harmonic distortions, greatly affect the inverters performance when connected to power grids. On these grids, as it is possible to identify significant distortions, the parameters for pairing the power grid, in which the inverters are based, can turn them into disconnection. The inverter automatically disconnects from the grid if for some reason the grid stops powering the power grid - such system is called anti-islanding. Therefore, it is important to theoretically reproduce the behavior of power grids which the inverters are connected to, in order to study them. However, due to the fact that the inverter is also a switched source-based electronic equipment to "reassemble" the sine wave, it provides a deformation not only on the voltage but also on the power grid current which it is connected to, being this deformation also significant in large SFCR (photovoltaic generation facility with large numbers of inverters). In this sense, the present work aims to implement the modeling of nonlinear loads (which can degrade the power quality) in SFCR inverters simulations, based on the special application of loads parameters from the FVCONECT software, developed by the Solar Energy Laboratory, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul.

O objetivo principal deste trabalho é avaliar a efetividade da previsão de geração de energia elétrica realizada por meio de simulação de um sistema fotovoltaico integrado por módulos de diferentes características, dispostos em série e conectados à rede de distribuição, sem inversor. Para isto foi utilizado o programa Crearray, desenvolvido no Laboratório de Energia Solar da UFRGS, que permite determinar o ponto de polarização do arranjo e comparar com dados medidos experimentalmente. Foi montado um arranjo fotovoltaico integrado com módulos de diferentes características conectados à rede de distribuição por meio de um inversor. A curva característica de cada um dos módulos foi determinada por ensaio em um simulador. Os dados da curva permitiram determinar os parâmetros dos modelos utilizados no programa Crearray. Para avaliar o funcionamento do programa os dados de tensão em corrente contínua foram inseridos no software e as respectivas correntes foram calculadas. Os valores de corrente calculados e os valores medidos mostraram a eficiência do programa em calcular a curva característica para diferentes condições de irradiância e de temperatura. Utilizando o mesmo programa encontrou-se o ponto de polarização do arranjo ao longo do tempo para o ponto de máxima potência e, desta forma, também a corrente e a potência máxima do lado de corrente contínua do sistema. Na comparação desta potência máxima teórica com a potência efetivamente medida no lado de corrente contínua do sistema, pôde-se constatar que nem sempre o inversor consegue determinar a tensão exata para estabelecer a potência máxima. Na comparação dos dados medidos e simulados observa-se concordância. Da comparação dos valores em horários sem interferência de sombras, foi obtida uma medição da eficiência do seguidor de máxima potência do inversor, em modo dinâmico. Observando os dados adquiridos também foi estimada a eficiência dinâmica de conversão do inversor para um dia. / The main objective of this dissertation is to confirm the forecast of electricity production through the simulation of a photovoltaic system. Such system is composed by modules with different characteristics, arranged in series and connected to the distribution network. The simulation was performed with the help of Crearray, a computer program developed at the Solar Energy Laboratory of UFRGS, which determines the bias point of the array and compares it with experimentally measured data. A photovoltaic array, constituted by modules with different characteristics, was assembled and connected to the distribution network through an inverter. The characteristic curve of each module was previously determined in a solar simulator test. The curve data was used to evaluate the parameters of the curve models used by Crearray software. To verify the correct operation of the program, the DC voltage data was entered to the software and the related current was calculated. The comparison between calculated and measured current values showed the Crearray ability to calculate the characteristic curve for different conditions of irradiance and temperature. Furthermore, the program was used to calculate the maximum power point of the array along the time and thus the delivered DC power. Comparing this theoretical maximum power with the power actually measured at the DC side of the system, it was verified that the inverter sometimes was not able to determine the correct bias voltage to extract the maximum power. Comparison of measured and simulated data showed an excellent concordance, except for certain times when there was shading on the reference cell. Comparing the values over periods without the interference of shadows, it was possible to estimate the MPPT efficiency of the inverter under dynamic mode. Analyzing the acquired data was also possible to estimate the inverter dynamic conversion efficiency for a day.

Un réseau insulaire est un système fragile et sensible aux variations de charge ou de production notamment d'origine renouvelable et intermittent. Ce problème devient crucial avec l'augmentation dans ces réseaux de production éolien ou PV en remplacement des sources actuelles (diesel, etc.). Cela impacte directement la stabilité du réseau, notamment la fréquence. Les moyens de stockage pourraient dès lors participer au réglage primaire de la fréquence, en limitant des variations après une perturbation. L'objectif de cette thèse consiste ainsi à étudier la participation du stockage pour maintenir la stabilité en fréquence dans un réseau insulaire en augmentant le taux de pénétration d'énergie renouvelable. Un algorithme de dimensionnement et différentes stratégies de contrôle du système de stockage ont ainsi été développés en fonction de variations réellement observées sur un parc PV. Notre étude est séparée en 2 parties. La première partie concerne la modélisation de l'intermittence de la production PV. La puissance PV a ainsi été caractérisée en fonction de son impact sur la variation de la fréquence, afin de définir toute situation critique. Ensuite, la technologie et les critères de dimensionnement du dispositif de stockage et la stratégie de pilotage et de contrôle-commande pour surveiller et contrôler le système de stockage ont été proposés et validées à partir de simulations. Ces stratégies ont été élaborées soit à partir de critères qualitatifs définie dans le domaine temporel, soit à partir d'une stratégie de filtrage fréquentiel des différentes sources. Par ailleurs, pour garantir des critères de robustesse vis-à-vis des incertitudes paramétriques notamment sur la mesure des variations PV, une commande robuste (utilisant un contrôleur H infinie) a été conçu et validé. Les différentes stratégies proposées peuvent plus ou moins réduire la variation de la fréquence suite à perturbation et permettre de réduire significativement la participation de la source principale d'énergie au réglage de la fréquence. Par ailleurs, les résultats ont permis de faire un lien entre le taux de pénétration des énergies renouvelables photovoltaïques dans un micro réseau et la tenue en fréquence dans ce réseau. / Frequency of isolated microgrids is highly sensitive to active power variation of loads and productions because of the inertia equivalent of this grid is small (limited number of thermal generators). Furthermore, the increasing of renewable energy in this grid causes frequency more risky to be instable because of its intermittency of power. In this thesis, energy storage is the selected solution to maintain the frequency stability of isolated microgrids with high penetration rate of renewable energy. It will participate to the primary frequency control which is the first control that takes action to limit the frequency deviation after disturbance. Therefore, the objective of this thesis is to design the appropriate size and strategy of energy storage in isolated microgrids with high penetration rate of photovoltaic. Proposed strategies will link to power variation of PV. Therefore, the different situations of photovoltaic power variations and their impacts on the system frequency had been firstly characterized and studied in order to specify the critical situation of frequency variation. Then, different strategies for energy storage and their sizes were defined from these two studies. The strategy limit dPpv diagram and filter strategy were proposed to define the participated power of energy storage in primary frequency control from the measured power variation of PV. Furthermore, controller H infinity which is robust control was also proposed. Finally, energy storage control system was validated by RTLAB (real time simulation) which enable us to simulate the hardware. The results show that energy storage by proposed strategies is able to stabilize frequency of the power system by limiting the frequency deviation to be within an acceptable range after occurrence of any disturbance. The proposed strategies can increase larger participated power of the energy storage with less frequently than the classic droop control.

Os inversores utilizados no sistema fotovoltaico conectados à rede (SFCR) devem apresentar uma forma de onda senoidal nos seus terminais de saída. Monitoram regularmente a qualidade de energia da rede elétrica aos quais estão conectados, de maneira a só gerarem energia se a rede estiver com tensão. Dependendo do inversor, da potência que ele está desenvolvendo em relação à sua potência nominal, da rede ao qual está conectado e das características da carga que ele alimentará, podem ser apresentadas distorções na rede de energia em relação à forma de onda senoidal pura, tanto a nível de tensão como a nível de corrente elétrica. Não é incomum os dispositivos que são conectados a redes apresentarem-se como geradores de harmônicos, principalmente os eletrônicos. Estas distorções, conhecidas na literatura como distorções harmônicas, afetam o desempenho dos inversores quando ligados a redes elétricas. Nestas redes, como pode haver distorções significativas. Os parâmetros elétricos que os inversores se baseiam para obter as características da rede a qual estão conectados,devido a estas distorções, podem fazer com que os mesmos se desconectem. O inversor também se desconectará automaticamente da rede ao perceber a ocorrência de variação acentuada da rede ou a falta dela; a esse sistema, dá-se a denominação antiilhamento. Portanto, é de bastante importância que se consiga reproduzir teoricamente o comportamento das cargas e das redes elétricas, nas quais os inversores serão conectados para que seja possível estudá-los quando interligados às diferentes cargas. Entretanto, devido ao inversor ser também um equipamento eletrônico baseado em fonte chaveada para “remontar” a onda senoidal, o mesmo também acaba introduzindo uma deformação tanto na tensão como na corrente da rede elétrica ao qual está conectado, e esta deformação é também significativa em SFCR de grande porte (instalação de geração fotovoltaica com grande número de inversores). Assim, este trabalho visa implementar a modelagem de cargas não lineares (degradadoras da qualidade de energia) para serem aplicadas em simulações de inversores de SFCR, com aplicação especial no parâmetro “cargas” do programa para computadores FVCONECT desenvolvido pelo Laboratório de Energia Solar da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. / It is known that the inverters used in photovoltaic systems connected to mains power (SFCR), when connected to the power grid, should provide a sinusoidal waveform at its output terminals. The photovoltaic systems inverters regularly monitor the power grid quality they are connected to, so they generate power only if the grid of the Concessionaire or external power grid presents voltage. Depending on the inverter, on the power that it develops over the same rated power, on the power grid it is connected to and on the characteristics of the load that it also feeds, it is possible to occur certain distortions on the power grid compared to pure sine waveform, in terms of voltage or even in terms of electric current. The devices connected to grid commonly present themselves as harmonic generators. The loads cause large distortions in the power grid causing disorders occur both voltage and current in a distribution line or power circuit. These distortions, commented in the literature as harmonic distortions, greatly affect the inverters performance when connected to power grids. On these grids, as it is possible to identify significant distortions, the parameters for pairing the power grid, in which the inverters are based, can turn them into disconnection. The inverter automatically disconnects from the grid if for some reason the grid stops powering the power grid - such system is called anti-islanding. Therefore, it is important to theoretically reproduce the behavior of power grids which the inverters are connected to, in order to study them. However, due to the fact that the inverter is also a switched source-based electronic equipment to "reassemble" the sine wave, it provides a deformation not only on the voltage but also on the power grid current which it is connected to, being this deformation also significant in large SFCR (photovoltaic generation facility with large numbers of inverters). In this sense, the present work aims to implement the modeling of nonlinear loads (which can degrade the power quality) in SFCR inverters simulations, based on the special application of loads parameters from the FVCONECT software, developed by the Solar Energy Laboratory, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul.

O objetivo principal deste trabalho é avaliar a efetividade da previsão de geração de energia elétrica realizada por meio de simulação de um sistema fotovoltaico integrado por módulos de diferentes características, dispostos em série e conectados à rede de distribuição, sem inversor. Para isto foi utilizado o programa Crearray, desenvolvido no Laboratório de Energia Solar da UFRGS, que permite determinar o ponto de polarização do arranjo e comparar com dados medidos experimentalmente. Foi montado um arranjo fotovoltaico integrado com módulos de diferentes características conectados à rede de distribuição por meio de um inversor. A curva característica de cada um dos módulos foi determinada por ensaio em um simulador. Os dados da curva permitiram determinar os parâmetros dos modelos utilizados no programa Crearray. Para avaliar o funcionamento do programa os dados de tensão em corrente contínua foram inseridos no software e as respectivas correntes foram calculadas. Os valores de corrente calculados e os valores medidos mostraram a eficiência do programa em calcular a curva característica para diferentes condições de irradiância e de temperatura. Utilizando o mesmo programa encontrou-se o ponto de polarização do arranjo ao longo do tempo para o ponto de máxima potência e, desta forma, também a corrente e a potência máxima do lado de corrente contínua do sistema. Na comparação desta potência máxima teórica com a potência efetivamente medida no lado de corrente contínua do sistema, pôde-se constatar que nem sempre o inversor consegue determinar a tensão exata para estabelecer a potência máxima. Na comparação dos dados medidos e simulados observa-se concordância. Da comparação dos valores em horários sem interferência de sombras, foi obtida uma medição da eficiência do seguidor de máxima potência do inversor, em modo dinâmico. Observando os dados adquiridos também foi estimada a eficiência dinâmica de conversão do inversor para um dia. / The main objective of this dissertation is to confirm the forecast of electricity production through the simulation of a photovoltaic system. Such system is composed by modules with different characteristics, arranged in series and connected to the distribution network. The simulation was performed with the help of Crearray, a computer program developed at the Solar Energy Laboratory of UFRGS, which determines the bias point of the array and compares it with experimentally measured data. A photovoltaic array, constituted by modules with different characteristics, was assembled and connected to the distribution network through an inverter. The characteristic curve of each module was previously determined in a solar simulator test. The curve data was used to evaluate the parameters of the curve models used by Crearray software. To verify the correct operation of the program, the DC voltage data was entered to the software and the related current was calculated. The comparison between calculated and measured current values showed the Crearray ability to calculate the characteristic curve for different conditions of irradiance and temperature. Furthermore, the program was used to calculate the maximum power point of the array along the time and thus the delivered DC power. Comparing this theoretical maximum power with the power actually measured at the DC side of the system, it was verified that the inverter sometimes was not able to determine the correct bias voltage to extract the maximum power. Comparison of measured and simulated data showed an excellent concordance, except for certain times when there was shading on the reference cell. Comparing the values over periods without the interference of shadows, it was possible to estimate the MPPT efficiency of the inverter under dynamic mode. Analyzing the acquired data was also possible to estimate the inverter dynamic conversion efficiency for a day.

Este trabalho buscou entender a situação da atividade de fabricação de módulos fotovoltaicos no Brasil com o objetivo de avaliar a possibilidade de estimular a indústria nacional e o uso dessa fonte alternativa mais acentuadamente. Para tanto, foi necessário analisar os benefícios energéticos e econômicos da cadeia de produção, além de entender o estado da arte atual de todo o processo. É um ramo industrial que está sendo implantado no Brasil e este estudo teve como objetivo obter informações relevantes dos problemas e facilidades que os empreendedores enfrentam, e quais são os custos e benefícios à sociedade em geral, inclusive para obtenção dos sistemas fotovoltaicos pelo consumidor final. O trabalho contém uma avaliação do estado da produção e utilização dos sistemas de energia solar fotovoltaica no mundo e o que ocorre no Brasil. Buscou-se conhecer as possíveis, e/ou mais relevantes, ações regulatórias e iniciativas da área privada para viabilizar este ramo industrial. São considerados os impactos da atividade em pauta, procurando mostrar as relações de custo-benefício em projetos de geração centralizada (Leilões de Energia de Reserva) e de geração distribuída. / This study aims to understand the status of the manufacturing activity of photovoltaic modules in Brazil to evaluate the possibility of stimulating the local production and its widespread use. It was necessary to evaluate the energetic and economic benefits of the production chain. In addition, the study focused the understanding of the current state of the art of the whole process. Photovoltaic solar energy is an industrial branch recently receiving impulse in Brazil. This study aims to obtain relevant information about the difficulties faced by the entrepreneurs and the benefits and costs to the society. The study assess the state of the production and use of solar PV systems in the world and what happens in Brazil. At this study, we sought to understand what are the possible, and/or more relevant, regulatory actions and private area initiatives to enable this industrial branch and its diffusion to the final consumers. The impacts of the related activity are considered, trying to show the cost-benefit relationship in centralized generation projects (Reserve Energy Auctions) and distributed generation.

O objetivo principal deste trabalho é avaliar a efetividade da previsão de geração de energia elétrica realizada por meio de simulação de um sistema fotovoltaico integrado por módulos de diferentes características, dispostos em série e conectados à rede de distribuição, sem inversor. Para isto foi utilizado o programa Crearray, desenvolvido no Laboratório de Energia Solar da UFRGS, que permite determinar o ponto de polarização do arranjo e comparar com dados medidos experimentalmente. Foi montado um arranjo fotovoltaico integrado com módulos de diferentes características conectados à rede de distribuição por meio de um inversor. A curva característica de cada um dos módulos foi determinada por ensaio em um simulador. Os dados da curva permitiram determinar os parâmetros dos modelos utilizados no programa Crearray. Para avaliar o funcionamento do programa os dados de tensão em corrente contínua foram inseridos no software e as respectivas correntes foram calculadas. Os valores de corrente calculados e os valores medidos mostraram a eficiência do programa em calcular a curva característica para diferentes condições de irradiância e de temperatura. Utilizando o mesmo programa encontrou-se o ponto de polarização do arranjo ao longo do tempo para o ponto de máxima potência e, desta forma, também a corrente e a potência máxima do lado de corrente contínua do sistema. Na comparação desta potência máxima teórica com a potência efetivamente medida no lado de corrente contínua do sistema, pôde-se constatar que nem sempre o inversor consegue determinar a tensão exata para estabelecer a potência máxima. Na comparação dos dados medidos e simulados observa-se concordância. Da comparação dos valores em horários sem interferência de sombras, foi obtida uma medição da eficiência do seguidor de máxima potência do inversor, em modo dinâmico. Observando os dados adquiridos também foi estimada a eficiência dinâmica de conversão do inversor para um dia. / The main objective of this dissertation is to confirm the forecast of electricity production through the simulation of a photovoltaic system. Such system is composed by modules with different characteristics, arranged in series and connected to the distribution network. The simulation was performed with the help of Crearray, a computer program developed at the Solar Energy Laboratory of UFRGS, which determines the bias point of the array and compares it with experimentally measured data. A photovoltaic array, constituted by modules with different characteristics, was assembled and connected to the distribution network through an inverter. The characteristic curve of each module was previously determined in a solar simulator test. The curve data was used to evaluate the parameters of the curve models used by Crearray software. To verify the correct operation of the program, the DC voltage data was entered to the software and the related current was calculated. The comparison between calculated and measured current values showed the Crearray ability to calculate the characteristic curve for different conditions of irradiance and temperature. Furthermore, the program was used to calculate the maximum power point of the array along the time and thus the delivered DC power. Comparing this theoretical maximum power with the power actually measured at the DC side of the system, it was verified that the inverter sometimes was not able to determine the correct bias voltage to extract the maximum power. Comparison of measured and simulated data showed an excellent concordance, except for certain times when there was shading on the reference cell. Comparing the values over periods without the interference of shadows, it was possible to estimate the MPPT efficiency of the inverter under dynamic mode. Analyzing the acquired data was also possible to estimate the inverter dynamic conversion efficiency for a day.