CHAPTER 1-RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES AND PV SYSTEMS

Renewable energy sources,also called as non-conventional energy sources,are the sources that are continuously replenished by natural processes. For example,solar energy,wind energy, bio-energy,hydropower etc., are some of the examples of renewable energy sources. A renewable energy system converts the energy found in sunlight,wind,falling- water,sea-waves,geothermal heat,or biomass into a form, we can use such as heat or electricity. Most of the renewable energy comes either directly or indirectly from sun and wind and can never be exhausted, and therefore they are called renewable. However, most of the world's energy sources are derived from conventional sources-fossil fuels such as coal,oil,and natural gases.These fuels are often termed non-renewable energy sources.Although,the available quantity of these fuels are extremely large, they are nevertheless finite and so will in principle run out at some time in the future.Renewable energy sources are essentially flows of energy,whereas the fossil and nuclear fuels are,in essence, stocks of energy

Various forms of renewable energy

Solar Energy Bio energy Hydro Energy Wind Energy Wave & tidal Energy

In this report we will discuss only on solar energy.

SOLAR CELLS
It is also known as photovoltaic cell(PV cell).Solar cell is a device that takes the light energy(solar energy) directly into electrical energy.The term solar cell is designated to capture energy from sunlight whereas PV cell is referred to an unspecified light source.It is like a battery source because it supplies DC
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power. Solar cell is basiccally nothing but a pn junction diode.The pn junction is effectively an interface between n and p type semiconductor:in other words where excess electrons and holes have been introduced by additional impurities.In equilibrium the electrochemical potentials on the two sides of the junction equal and there is no net current.Under illumination,electron hole pairs are generated in the semiconductor.When light falls on the semiconducto the fermi levels of n type and p type semiconductor gets separated.As a result some electrical energy is generated.

IF,

Efp=The potential of p type fermi level Efn =The potential of n type fermi level
q=charge of the electron

Then the voltage generated is V=(Efp-Efn)/q.

Different electrical parameters of a solar cell

The different parameters of asolar cell are Short circuit current(ISC) Open circuit voltage(VOC) Maximum power(MRP)

Maximum peak power current(IM) Maximum peak power voltage(VM)

The other two very important parameters of a solar cell are the efficiency of a solar cell and the fill factor of a solar cell. The energy conversion efficiency is defined as the ratio of the maximum power that the cell can convert, marked by the MPP (maximum power point), and the radiation power that is available. Efficiency=((IM*VM)/(Insolation*Area os the solar cell)) At present, solar cells taken from series production, come up with efficiency values of 13 to 16 % at STC.

Characteristics of a solar cell At the MPP another characteristic value is defined: the fill factor FF.FF = (Vm*Im)/(Voc*Isc). For crystalline silicon the fill factor ranges from 0.75 to 0.85 at STC.

PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULE AND ARRAY..

A solar cell gives a very little amount of voltage typically of 600mv.This amount of voltage is not sufficient for our use.So to produce a satisfactory amount of DC voltage the solar cells are connected in series.Typically 28 to 36 cells are connected in series and formes into a module to generate a DC voltage of 12V in standard illuminated condition. If we connect the cells in series only, then we will not get a sufficient amount of current.So the 12 V modules can be used connected in parallel and series into an array with a
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larger current and vaoltage output according to power demanded by the application.

Typical crystalline sillicon module and cell

PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM
A pv system consists of a number of interconnected components designed to accomplish a desired task which may be to feed electricity into the main distribution grid,to pump water from a well,to run a dc motor or many more possible uses of solar genarated electricity.The design of the system depends on the task it must perform and the location and other site condition under which it must operate. There are four types of pv system

1. 2. 3. 4.

Standalone pv system Hybrid pv system Grid connected pv system Building integrated pv system

As the name implies the standalone pv system operates independently of any other power supply and it usually supplies electricity to a dedicated load.It includes a storage facility(battery bank) to allow electricity to provide electricity during the night or at the time of poor sunlight levels.Standalone systems are often referred to as autonomous system as their opearation is independent of any other power source. The grid connected pv system operates in parallel with the conventional electricty distribution system.It can be used to feed electricity into the grid distribution system or to power load which can also be feed from the grid. It is also possible to add one or more alternative power supplies(diesel generator,wind turbine) to the system to meet some of the load requirements.These systems are known as Hybrid systems. One of the most interesting application of pv is on buildings.This is known as building integrated pv system.Here the pv modules are integrated to the roof top or in the walls of the buildings.When pv elements are integrated to buildings they does dual function.They act as a building element and they also supplies power to the building.But it is very cost effective. The main components of a pv system are the photovoltaic array,battery bank,power conditioner,extra power generator and load.By convention the photovoltaic system is splitted into two parts, they are photovoltaic part and the balance of the system.Photovoltaic part includes the pv array and the rest
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are balance of the system.

CHAPTER 2-MISMATCH EFFECT IN PV MODULE

There are two kinds of mismatch loss which occurs in pv module. They are

RELATIVE POWER LOSS(RPL) HOTSPOT FALIURE

In an ideal pv panel the series and parallel connected pv modules should have identical voltage current characteristics.If the connected modules are not identical with respect to their basic parameters(short circuit current,open circuit voltage,max power,efficiency,fill factor) then the total power output of the siries and parallel connected module will always be less than the sum of the total power output of the modules.This type of loss is called relative power loss. R.P.L=(sum of the power output of the modules -total power output)/sum of the power output of the modules Another type of mismatch loss occurs when one or more modules in the pv panel comes under the influence of shadow.When a module in series string of modules is mismatched either by partial or full shadowing,its light generated current falls below the value of the light generated current in other modules of the string.Since the mismatched module is connected in series,the modules which recieves identical illumination forcibly drive a current exceeding its short circuit current value through the mismatched module.Consequently,significant amount of power is dissipated by the mismatched module leading to an increase of temparature.If this reaches 100 degree C then the hot spot effect may burn out the module and open circuit the string. The solution of the problem is connecting a bypass diode across the module.If
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a module comes under shadow then the total current will flow through the bypass diode to the next module.but here the output voltage will be low.

Here we will discuss how hot-spot effect can be eliminated by conecting bypass diode and how to achieve maximum power by connecting bypass diode.