Solar cooling research center is being developed on CSEM-UAE outdoor research facility in RAK/UAE.  The research center is capable to test system from 1 TR cooling capacity to 10 TR cooling capacity. The source of heat is solar radiation and heat pipe type evacuated tube solar collectors are used to collect the solar energy. Solar station controls and circulates water in solar collectors and helps charge the hot water stratified tank. While in operation of the solar cooling facility, circulation pumps for hot water, chilled water and rejection circuit have to be continuously operated along with fan coil units, solar station, chiller and cooling tower. These all components require continuous electrical power. Currently, the entire electrical power requirement is supplied by a diesel generator. Since the center is for research activities, most of the time solar cooling center is on no load condition. Thus solar collectors are subjected to saturation. To prevent heat collection during no load conditions solar collectors are covered. Research project carried out to design of the renewable energy powered system to ensure the electricity availability for all the components so that the facility can be operated continuously without fossil fuel. UAE climate is sunny throughout the year thus Photovoltaic will be most prominent as a renewable source in generating electrical power. The PV is subjected to UAE harsh hot and dust environment which affect the performance of the PV. Thus the performance variations of PV due to dust deposition and temperature have analyzed. A matlab simulink model has developed to analyze the energy generation in UAE environment with available weather data. Technical and economical analysis has done for different PV technologies and find out the optimum PV design for the solar cooling center. To prevent the saturation of the solar collectors, a heat rejection unit have designed and installed. The control system for the automatic operation also implemented.

No description available.

abstract: This study evaluates two photovoltaic (PV) power plants based on electrical performance measurements, diode checks, visual inspections and infrared scanning. The purpose of this study is to measure degradation rates of performance parameters (Pmax, Isc, Voc, Vmax, Imax and FF) and to identify the failure modes in a "hot-dry desert" climatic condition along with quantitative determination of safety failure rates and reliability failure rates. The data obtained from this study can be used by module manufacturers in determining the warranty limits of their modules and also by banks, investors, project developers and users in determining appropriate financing or decommissioning models. In addition, the data obtained in this study will be helpful in selecting appropriate accelerated stress tests which would replicate the field failures for the new modules and would predict the lifetime for new PV modules. The study was conducted at two, single axis tracking monocrystalline silicon (c-Si) power plants, Site 3 and Site 4c of Salt River Project (SRP). The Site 3 power plant is located in Glendale, Arizona and the Site 4c power plant is located in Mesa, Arizona both considered a "hot-dry" field condition. The Site 3 power plant has 2,352 modules (named as Model-G) which was rated at 250 kW DC output. The mean and median degradation of these 12 years old modules are 0.95%/year and 0.96%/year, respectively. The major cause of degradation found in Site 3 is due to high series resistance (potentially due to solder-bond thermo-mechanical fatigue) and the failure mode is ribbon-ribbon solder bond failure/breakage. The Site 4c power plant has 1,280 modules (named as Model-H) which provide 243 kW DC output. The mean and median degradation of these 4 years old modules are 0.96%/year and 1%/year, respectively. At Site 4c, practically, none of the module failures are observed. The average soiling loss is 6.9% in Site 3 and 5.5% in Site 4c. The difference in soiling level is attributed to the rural and urban surroundings of these two power plants. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S.Tech Engineering 2013

abstract: In the current photovoltaic (PV) industry, the O&M (operations and maintenance) personnel in the field primarily utilize three approaches to identify the underperforming or defective modules in a string: i) EL (electroluminescence) imaging of all the modules in the string; ii) IR (infrared) thermal imaging of all the modules in the string; and, iii) current-voltage (I-V) curve tracing of all the modules in the string. In the first and second approaches, the EL images are used to detect the modules with broken cells, and the IR images are used to detect the modules with hotspot cells, respectively. These two methods may identify the modules with defective cells only semi-qualitatively, but not accurately and quantitatively. The third method, I-V curve tracing, is a quantitative method to identify the underperforming modules in a string, but it is an extremely time consuming, labor-intensive, and highly ambient conditions dependent method. Since the I-V curves of individual modules in a string are obtained by disconnecting them individually at different irradiance levels, module operating temperatures, angle of incidences (AOI) and air-masses/spectra, all these measured curves are required to be translated to a single reporting condition (SRC) of a single irradiance, single temperature, single AOI and single spectrum. These translations are not only time consuming but are also prone to inaccuracy due to inherent issues in the translation models. Therefore, the current challenges in using the traditional I-V tracers are related to: i) obtaining I-V curves simultaneously of all the modules and substrings in a string at a single irradiance, operating temperature, irradiance spectrum and angle of incidence due to changing weather parameters and sun positions during the measurements, ii) safety of field personnel when disconnecting and reconnecting of cables in high voltage systems (especially field aged connectors), and iii) enormous time and hardship for the test personnel in harsh outdoor climatic conditions. In this thesis work, a non-contact I-V (NCIV) curve tracing tool has been integrated and implemented to address the above mentioned three challenges of the traditional I-V tracers. This work compares I-V curves obtained using a traditional I-V curve tracer with the I-V curves obtained using a NCIV curve tracer for the string, substring and individual modules of crystalline silicon (c-Si) and cadmium telluride (CdTe) technologies. The NCIV curve tracer equipment used in this study was integrated using three commercially available components: non-contact voltmeters (NCV) with voltage probes to measure the voltages of substrings/modules in a string, a hall sensor to measure the string current and a DAS (data acquisition system) for simultaneous collection of the voltage data obtained from the NCVs and the current data obtained from the hall sensor. This study demonstrates the concept and accuracy of the NCIV curve tracer by comparing the I-V curves obtained using a traditional capacitor-based tracer and the NCIV curve tracer in a three-module string of c-Si modules and of CdTe modules under natural sunlight with uniform light conditions on all the modules in the string and with partially shading one or more of the modules in the string to simulate and quantitatively detect the underperforming module(s) in a string. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Engineering 2020

The global energy trilemma has brought attention to the importance of energy access, in particular to the 1.3 billion people worldwide without access to electricity. Vital for addressing poverty, improving people s quality of lives and meeting the Millennium Development Goals, small scale solar energy technologies are espoused as a solution to household energy needs in off-grid areas of the developing world. This thesis contributes to this critical research area through an investigation of energy governance issues in Nicaragua; specifically it focuses on the practices and experiences of off-grid solar energy technologies. The lived realities, voices and aspirations of energy users are largely absent in scholarly accounts of energy poverty, as such this thesis considers the implications of solar energy technologies from the perspective of those ultimately adopting, using, maintaining (and abandoning) them. Contributing to the burgeoning field of geographical and social science studies of energy, this thesis draws on ten months of field research in Nicaragua, which encompassed more than seventy qualitative interviews with stakeholders at multiple spatial scales. This included actors from international development agencies, national government, non-governmental organisations, the private sector, civil society, as well as households participating in three solar energy programmes. This was complemented by a large household survey of participants from one solar energy programme. Incorporating perspectives from the micro, meso and macro scales, this study presents a highly nuanced picture of the Nicaraguan energy landscape. The study concludes that interaction between global energy paradigm shifts and the domestic political economic context produced an electricity sector that was until recently - characterised by low distributional equity, deep consumer mistrust and dominated by fossil fuel-based electricity generation. The recent prioritisation of energy as a key developmental concern is demonstrated not only in strong government intervention, but also through growing international interest in solving Nicaragua s energy problem . A raft of programmes to green the electricity generating matrix, strengthen distribution activities and expand electricity access have emerged. Despite these encouraging developments, this research concludes that issues related to transparency, vested interests and the politicisation of electricity access appear to remain unresolved. The study traces the development of the off-grid solar energy market segment, revealing a complex architecture of institutions and actors working to promote and deploy solar energy technologies at scale. While this market initially developed in response to gaps in remote electrification plans, the research finds that recent grid expansion activities mean that the longer-term scope for small scale solar energy technologies is limited. However, solar energy remains an important feature of energy development assistance in Nicaragua, with further evidence in this study highlighting the amenability of solar energy to multiple institutional objectives and mandates whether climate change-related or poverty focused. The thesis concludes that the positions and expectations of key solar actors are often misaligned with the needs, wants and aspirations of off-grid energy users. Engagement with the narratives of people living in remote, off-grid areas reveals that the implications of solar energy programmes are not guaranteed, static, or necessarily captured by all households or indeed, all members of households. Users perceive that small scale solar energy technologies provide important soft benefits including increased levels of comfort, security, wellbeing and connectivity. However, the benefits are only captured for as long as the technology continues to work whether in organisational, financial, technical or social terms. The research concludes that there are numerous challenges facing solar energy interventions in Nicaragua, with some barriers connected to the situation of the user household, for instance, their continued ability to absorb the financial commitments associated with technology use. Other challenges link to the broader political economic context, where the highly complex, fragmented and politicised nature of (solar) electricity access has the potential to undermine interventions. This thesis argues that it is vital to examine solar energy interventions as embedded within broader political economic frameworks, but also to account for the intricacies of inter and intra-household dynamics. The study contributes new insights and empirical findings to debates on global energy governance, energy poverty, and the practices, politics and experiences of off-grid solar energy technologies in the Global South.

Most of the world’s electricity is being generated through conventional sources of energy like coal and nuclear. People are realizing the dire effect of using these fuels, and the amount of CO2 being released into the environment. Therefore, in recent year there has been a shift in emphasis towards cleaner ways of generating electricity. One such recent trend is solar photovoltaics (PV), which has seen rapid growth over the years. This ever-increasing trend of adopting PV system allows consumers to be producers or “Prosumers”. Due to the irregular production capability of solar PV, the need for an energy storage system like a battery bank is on the rise as well. This report evaluates how solar PV can be used in combination with a battery bank to supply the annual electricity demand for a household with little to no support from the grid. The building is assumed to be located in Bangalore, India. The energy demand for the household is estimated based on the requirements of a basic Indian house standard. The size and configuration of each component have been done with regards to the total load demand. Furthermore, the cost of the whole system is estimated in order to evaluate the feasibility of the grid-tied system from an economic perspective. The results show that a PV system consisting of four 270W solar panels, a battery bank of eight150Ah lead-acid batteries and a 48V 4kW inverter is required to meet the annual energy demand of the house. The results show that from a technical standpoint, the above-mentioned technology is feasible. The results from the economic evaluation show that the localized cost of energy(LCOE) for the system is ₹6.01/kWh or € 0.078/kWh or 0.84SEK/kWh and the payback time for the given system is 16.19 years. On the bright side, there are new technological advancements in the PV field every day, which could mean that an energy system of this type can be an achievable and practical alternative. Most of the world’s electricity is being generated through conventional sources of energy like coal and nuclear. People are realizing the dire effect of using these fuels, and the amount of CO2 being released into the environment. Therefore, in recent year there has been a shift in emphasis towards cleaner ways of generating electricity. One such recent trend is solar photovoltaics (PV), which has seen rapid growth over the years. This ever-increasing trend of adopting PV system allows consumers to be producers or “Prosumers”. Due to the irregular production capability of solar PV, the need for an energy storage system like a battery bank is on the rise as well. This report evaluates how solar PV can be used in combination with a battery bank to supply the annual electricity demand for a household with little to no support from the grid. The building is assumed to be located in Bangalore, India. The energy demand for the household is estimated based on the requirements of a basic Indian house standard. The size and configuration of each component have been done with regards to the total load demand. Furthermore, the cost of the whole system is estimated in order to evaluate the feasibility of the grid-tied system from an economic perspective. The results show that a PV system consisting of four 270W solar panels, a battery bank of eight 150Ah lead-acid batteries and a 48V 4kW inverter is required to meet the annual energy demand of the house. The results show that from a technical standpoint, the above-mentioned technology is feasible. The results from the economic evaluation show that the localized cost of energy (LCOE) for the system is ₹6.01/kWh or € 0.078/kWh or 0.84SEK/kWh and the payback time for the given system is 16.19 years. On the bright side, there are new technological advancements in the PV field every day, which could mean that an energy system of this type can be an achievable and practical alternative.

The world is entering the future where integration of renewable energy sources within the power grid will play an important role when facing the challenge of reducing global warming. The intermittent generation characteristics associate with renewable energy sources can be handled by the implementation of microgrids. A Microgrid is a group of energy source (e.g. wind, solar etc) that are located in the same local area that can operate independently in the event of electricity outage and can also be connected to the national grid in case of energy demand exceeds than the energy produced in the same local area. The implementation of microgrid in an electrical distribution system must be well planned to avoid problems. The EU has set high goals to reduce the non-renewable energy sources by 2030. EU has started some local energy systems (microgrids) and Simris is a part of it. This study is about a microgrid project at Simris in the south-east of Sweden. The village of Simris has 140 households supplied by a wind turbine of rated power 500kW and a solar power plant of 440 kW rated power. This project is run by E. ON within the framework and collaboration of Interflux, in which several network operators within the EU participate to investigate flexibility options in local energy systems.  The aim of this study is to find different scenarios in which the Simris microgrid can be run in islanded-mode. Four different scenarios were investigated, and simulation was done in MATLab. After simulation the results were discussed in the “Analysis and Results” section and the size of the wind turbine, the solar park (PV)and the battery were suggested for each of the scenarios. A short calculation was also included between the installation cost of the suggested wind turbine and the needed battery size. The cost of battery is much higher than the cost of wind turbine, so its beneficial for the economy of the microgrid to have a wind turbine of 1000 kW rated power and battery size 35 MWh rather than using the same old wind turbine of 469 kW rated power and upgrade the battery to 462 MWh.

The cost reductions and the environmental benefits aligned with global concerns about climate change have made solar photovoltaic technology the most installed source of energy in the power sector worldwide. Brazil has the largest know reserves of silicon in the world. Therefore, there is a huge potential for developing a national technology for purifying and manufacturing silicon wafers within an increasingly competitive and efficient photovoltaic industry. The IPEN initiative of investigating the production of metallic silicon and metallurgical route purification required a characterization of samples in different stages of production from quartz to wafer and understanding the characterization methods for silicon wafers taking into account the main defect mechanisms such as light-induced degradation. Metalic silicon is produced in IPEN via magnesiothermal reduction through acid leaching to form a metallurgical grade silicon with relatively low impurities. One more acid leaching step resulted in a specific ultra-metallurgical grade silicon. The same acid leaching was processed in a commercially available Brazilian-made metallurgical grade silicon produced via carbothermal reduction. All samples impurities was measured by ICP-OES. The result is a material with ultra-metallurgical grade silicon content with excess of B and P. While wafer characterization was studied, an extensive investigation was taken on LeTID, which causes remain unknown, at Institute for Energy Technology, Norway. Neighboring high performance mc-Si p-type wafers were tested in different firing process conditions. The effects was investigated in terms of defects activation and a corresponding lifetime degradation and recovery at illuminated annealing. A sample with almost fully suppressed LeTID is shown. A new method have been proposed to separate Boron Oxygen-Light Induced Degradation effects of LeTID, enabling to measure even where it was thought to be fully suppressed. New models for LeTID defect formation and suppression are proposed. Both silicon purification and light-induced degradation characterization in mc-Si studies shows a wide range of research on new production routes that may require tailored processes of crystallization and solar cell manufacturing such as gettering and firing. / As reduções de custos e benefícios ambientais alinhadas às preocupações globais com as mudanças climáticas tornaram a tecnologia solar fotovoltaica a fonte de energia mais instalada no setor de energia do mundo. O Brasil possui as maiores reservas conhecidas de silício. Portanto, existe um enorme potencial para o desenvolvimento de uma tecnologia nacional para purificação e fabricação de wafers de silício dentre a indústria fotovoltaica cada vez mais competitiva e eficiente. A iniciativa do IPEN de investigar a produção de silício metálico e a purificação de rotas metalúrgicas exigiu a caracterização de amostras em diferentes estágios de produção, do quartzo ao wafer e a compreensão dos métodos de caracterização dos wafers de silício, levando em consideração os principais mecanismos de defeitos, como a degradação induzida pela luz. O silício metálico é produzido no IPEN através da redução magnesiotérmica através da lixiviação ácida para formar um silício de grau metalúrgico com impurezas relativamente baixas. Mais uma etapa de lixiviação ácida resultou em um silício de grau ultra-metalúrgico específico. A mesma lixiviação foi feita em um silício de grau metalúrgico fabricado no Brasil, disponível comercialmente, produzido por redução carbotérmica. Todas as amostras foram medidas por ICP-OES. O resultado é um material com teores de silício de grau ultra-metalúrgico e excesso de B e P. Enquanto a caracterização do wafer foi estudada, uma extensa investigação foi realizada sobre o LeTID, que tem causas desconhecidas, no Institute for Energy Technology, Noruega. Os wafers vizinhos de mc-Si do tipo-p de alto desempenho foram testados em diferentes condições do processo de firing. Os efeitos foram investigados em termos de ativação de defeitos e uma correspondente degradação e recuperação no lifetime sob recozimento iluminado. Uma amostra com LeTID quase totalmente suprimido é mostrada. Um novo método foi proposto para separar os efeitos de Degradação Induzida por Luz relacionados ao Oxigênio e Boro do LeTID, permitindo até medir onde se pensava que estivesse totalmente suprimido. Novos modelos para formação e supressão de defeitos LeTID são propostos. Tanto a purificação de silício quanto a caracterização de degradação induzida pela luz nos estudos de mc-Si mostram uma ampla gama de pesquisas sobre novas rotas de produção que podem exigir processos personalizados de cristalização e fabricação de células solares, como gettering e firing.

雖然台灣在太陽能PV科技製造業上位居於領先位置，也採取了FIT來推廣太陽能PV及其他再生能源，但是市場的吸收（以及新計畫的完成）至今仍是進展緩慢；因此再生能源在台灣明顯且矛盾的狀況成了本論文的研究動機 為了理解為什麼有這種狀況，本論文採用了兩個廣泛的觀點： （一）市場障礙觀點：這個觀點提供了一個簡明的總結；在經濟學上國內太陽能PV的安裝，特別是家用投資者在FIT計劃下考慮電網連接。 （二）市場轉型觀點：這個觀點確定了影響並降低台灣再生能源市場的因素或是參與者（政府機關或其他相關團體的人員）。 本論文最後一個章節中提出了可能有助於提高台灣太陽能PV或是其他再生能源的接受度的實用步驟及政策措施。 本研究結果指向複雜且費時的申請手續，反覆修改的相關法令，及設定太低的FIT為至今台灣太陽能PV市場開發成功有限的主要原因。低電價、政府與台電間所發展出的相互依賴狀況以及極力避免破壞現況的密集產業為造成這些狀況的難題。 為了解決這些缺陷，本論文建議立即將FIT上修（至少每千瓦新台幣12.6元）並恢復補貼中小型投資者的資本。削除行政與程序上的障礙是促進在地太陽能PV市場和建立信心的整體方案上非常重要的的一環。論文中的最後一章節提到一個發展框架，並且描述了 一些針對於更棘手並減緩台灣的多元化能源供應問題的可能解決方案。 / The motivation for this research stems from an obvious contradiction in Taiwan’s approach to renewable energy – that while Taiwan remains a leading manufacturer of solar photovoltaics (PV) technology, and has adopted a feed-in-tariff (FIT) to promote solar PV and other renewable energies, market uptake (and completion of new projects) has so far been slow. In order to understand why, this thesis adopts two broad-based perspectives first identified by the International Energy Agency (IEA): (i) the Market Barriers Perspective provides a concise summary of the economics of domestic solar PV installation in Taiwan, specifically for the small scale (residential) investor contemplating grid connection under the FIT scheme; (ii) the Market Transformation Perspective identifies those factors (or actors) contributing to inertia in the renewable energy market in Taiwan. A final section in this thesis is given over to describing practical steps and policy approaches which may help boost solar PV (and other renewable) capacity in Taiwan. The results of this research point to a complicated and time-consuming applications process, repeated changes to relevant legislation, and a FIT which is set too low, as the primary reasons for the limited success to date in developing Taiwan’s small-scale (distributed) solar PV market. These difficulties are compounded by low electricity prices and a mutual dependency that has developed between the government, Taiwan Power, and large energy-intensive industries to avoid any upset to the status quo. In order to address these problem areas this thesis recommends immediately revising the FIT upwards (to at least NT$12.6 per kWh) in conjunction with the reinstatement of capital subsidies for small to medium investors. Removing administrative and procedural barriers is likewise deemed essential to fostering growth in the local solar PV market and establishing confidence in overall program. A Developmental Framework in the final section of this thesis describes some potential solutions to the more intractable problems slowing the diversification of Taiwan’s energy supply.

A survey of residential solar photovoltaic (PV) adopters in Texas was administered and the results are presented and discussed. A 40% response rate was achieved and 365 complete responses were received. In addition to demographics, the survey uncovered aspects related to the decision-making process, information search, financial attractiveness of PV, and post-installation experience. Peer-effects did not have a large influence on the adoption of residential PV in Texas, but the potential for increasing the number of communication/information channels to increase the adoption rate of PV exists. Adopters experienced little uncertainty at the time of PV installation because sufficient dependable information was available during the search process. Overall, they are satisfied with PV. Contextual factors, such as income and the ability to purchase a PV system rather than lease one, influence behavior. Those who decreased electricity consumption post-adoption were more motivated to adopt by environmental concern and a general interest in energy than those who increased electricity consumption post-adoption. Those who experienced behavior changes also experienced an increase in awareness of electricity use post-adoption, while those who did not experience a behavior change reported no change in awareness post-adoption. Change in awareness of electricity use is less dependent on the attitudinal and contextual factors, such as environmental concern, motivation for adoption, age, and income, that influence consumption change. The potential for further analysis of the survey results is great and will likely yield additional conclusions about the consequences of the adoption of PV. Coupling the survey results with historical electricity bill data will yield stronger conclusions about behavior change. Surveying geographical areas outside of Texas is recommended. / text