University of Petroleum and energy studies

Performance optimization of Solar PV plant Through Micro Inverter

Ashish Verma M.Tech (Energy System) 500022066

Power scenario in India

Growing scenario of Renewable energy

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Coal Gas Diesel Nuclear Hydro RES 20 24.5

Renewable energy accounts for approximately 12.04% of a total 214.86 GW of power generation capacity installed in India. Demand for power in India has been increasing due to the rising population, growing economy, and changing lifestyles.

12% 18% 58% 2% 1% 9% 12.3

Despite substantial capacity additions, the power sector is still in shortage of energy.
Peak demand shortage averages around 9%.

CAGR 19%

10.2

14.4

16.8

Renewable energy installed capacity was grown at a healthy CAGR of 19% over FY07-FY12

FY07

FY08

FY09

FY10

FY11

FY12

Growth of Renewable energy installed capacity in India

Source: MNRE, CEA & Economic survey of India 2012

Break Up of Renewable Energy

Growth rate of Solar PV
India is largest EPC sector in renewable energy in the World

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Grid Interactive Installed capacity (In MW) Wind 0.35% 5.30% Small Hydro power Biomass Power 13.01% 68.27% Bagasse Cogeneration Waste to power Solar PV

Installed capacity of 27.29 GW(up to feb2013)

various mission enhancing
policy2009 etc.)

and state policies for 8.43% capacity 4.63%

,Gujrat Solar

the

power generation

through renewable energy(NSM,NBMMP

Target of Renewable energy mix of 15 % upto2017 Total installed capacity of Solar PV was 10 MW

before 2009 and now its reached up to 1440MW

(feb2013)

Expected CAGR of installed capacity of Solar PV is 47 % during the 2011-16

Source :EFYtimes, MNRE,PV- Magazine, NAPCC

Different type of Solar PV plant and his component

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Grid Connected System & Component

1. 2. 3. 4. Module Inverter Transformer Distribution panel

Off grid System & Component

1. 2. 3. 4. Module PCU ( Charger controller /Inverter ) Battery Distribution Panel

Decentralized System
Suitable for where grid connectivity is poor or grid is not viable Best option for Rural Electrification

Break up Cost of Solar PV plant

Grid connected Solar PV plant cost is 8

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Cr/MWp
Land according to technology used (Crystalline & Thin film) Highest cost sharing by PV module is
13% 43% 13% 10%
Module

PCU

around 43%

Land Cost

Civil and General Work

12%

Mounting Structure

2% 7%
Evacuation cost up to Inter connection point IDC & Contingency cost

Source: CERC

% Sharing of Cost/MW

Performance parameter of Solar PV plant

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which is ratio of actual energy produced from the plant to maximum during the year possible output

Radiation of the Site

Responsible of energy generation through solar PV Primary requirement for design of power plant Data me be instant(Irradiance) or integrated(irradiation ) Comparable result found the inaccuracy of 20-25%

Losses in PV system
Which cause the power actually delivered to the grid to be lower than the power produced from PV module Cable loss Power Inverter Dust on the Module surface Ambient temperature Varying insolation level

Reflection loss
data show that the module faced toward the equator with tilt angle of latitude ,yearly reflection losses is 1 % relative to STC

Soiling Loss
Occur due to dust and dirt particles Losses are generally 1% Reduce the power capability

Mismatch Effect
Losses due to series and parallel connection of Module Module dont have identical property

MPPT Loss
Extract the max power from Solar PV

Inverter Efficiency
Stand alone ,Grid tied Efficiency measure how well it convert the dc voltage into AC voltage Efficiency of 95-98 % Less efficiency at low power

 Temperature and climate condition

Power decrease according to temperature coefficient Typical value for Crystalline module is -0.4- 0.45%/C Typical value for thin film module is -0.24-0.25%/C

Design parameter of Plant

Minimization of ohmic losses
Selection of efficient transformer and Inverter Mounting position proper air ventilation required Inclination angle max radiation can be obtained by optimum tilt angle which is

determine by the latitude of location

Module power degradation due to ageing

-0.50% reduction of power Per year 90% of the max power up to 10 years and 80% of the max power next 15 years

Need of optimization and evaluation of the Performance ? UPES

Ensure continuous and reliable operation

Generating maximum energy

Maximize the economic performance Ensure better PR

Life expectancy Long term commercial utilization of plant

Micro Inverter -Technology

It build into or attached to each PV module Each micro inverter convert Dc from each module to AC ,ready for grid connection directly Allow Each module to be an independent ,standalone , Solar AC grid connected system with optimized energy production output Less space for installation No handling to high DC voltage No Issue of single point failure Life is more 20-30 % than String inverter Market Growth is around $14.8Billion*

Source: Bloomberg Energy ,NREL, Enphase

Micro Inverter Component

Activation Process Array Gun Center feed separate the individual branch circuit current for protection with OCPD(over current protection device ) Communication domain Engage cable connecting the Micro Inverter LCF when more than one communication domain is installed ,for reducing the noise level Micro Inverter- Inverter automatic detect the utility scale voltage and export power the utility services , connected with CB Micro inverter Sub panel PLC Transformer use to connect the commercial PV project to utility grid

Micro Inverter Is micro inverter best option to optimize the performance ? UPES
Micro inverter operate similarly to central inverter System Connected on each individually module Handle much less power than central inverter

Yes ,Micro inverter are better option for optimization

Improve the energy harvest Increase reliability Simplify design ,installation

Better monitoring of Individuals

Dynamic MPPT efficiency is around 99.3% Integrated with PLC

Connection of Micro inverter Integrated with Solar PV Module UPES

Source :Enphase Energy

Benefits of Micro Inverter over other Inverter

Deliver design flexibility Integrated intelligence
24/7 monitoring analysis Quick and simple design ,installation and management

Increase energy harvest

Due to minimization of system losses due to DC-AC conversion

Cost effective
Cost is 10-12% high comparable to Central or String Inverter Energy production 18-20% high , so cost effectiveness is justified

Limitless scalability
Include main panel board of PV load center that feeds multiple micro inverter sub panel distributed across the system

 Isolating Communication devices

Reduce the communication noise Better individual Monitoring

Reliable
System availability greater than 99.8%

No single point failure of system

Safe
Low voltage DC Reduce fire risk

Source: Enphase energy, NREL

Micro Inverter V/S String ,Central Inverter

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PV module with String & Central Inverter

PV module with Micro Inverter

Economics behind installing Micro Inverter

Buyers wants to know what would be the PBP of investment Saving and PBP is vary according to location

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Dependent on various factor like

cost of electricity from the grid Feed in Tariff Subsidy Capital cost Unpredictable factor , like radiation that affect the amount generation of electricity

LCOE (Levelelized cost of Electricity) best option to comparing the

lifetime system cost with total power harvested over the period of time help to determine the ROI

LCOE takes account of 1. Capital Cost- module cost , cost of power conversion electronics, Installation 2. Power harvesting the total power harvested from the system ,through its life
time and monetary value of each harvested kWh ,determine the financial return

3. Operation & Maintenance Directly proportional to the system reliability ,if

it is difficult to locate the source of problem ,the time spent on locating the fault will increase the cost Low LCOE show that RE power production is cheep and close to achieving GRID parity

Power optimizer are also used for extracting the max power from Module ,but cost is
increase $200 per module and need of central inverter same

Enecsys Case Study : Architecture Cost Evaluation

Capital Cost :
System Rating -7kWp Module cost per Watt-$2 ($14,000) String Inverter Cost per Watt - $0.5($3,500) Micro Inverter Cost per Watt- $0.75($5,250) Total =$17,500 Cost is 10% more than String inverter Total=$19,250

Installation Cost
No high voltage DC switch and wire No need to allocate area for inverter in building

According to market survey installation cost for String inverter is $16,500 and for Micro
inverter is $12,500 for 7kWp plant Offer saving of 24% in installation cost

Shade impact On Power Generation Through Solar PV Experimental Case study - String & Micro inverter
PV Evaluation Lab (PVEL), in association with NREL ,recently performed a series of field test to measure the shade impact on solar array output.

Solar Micro inverter shows the higher output than a string inverter in certain cases Perform in Light ,Medium and Highly shade 4%,8%,12% increased energy harvested by Micro Inverter

Solar power electronics ,Inverter ,Micro Inverter ,Power converter have a range of obtaining Max power curve

NREL developed different type of standard test procedure for simulating PV performance under shade Source: NREL , PVEL, Enphase energy

Characteristics Curve of System with Shade effect

Source: NREL , PVEL, Enphase energy

Adopted Methodology
Performance tested on two identical 8kWp Array

One connected with String inverter and another is with Micro Inverter
Tested under different 78 shaded test condition

Semi Transparent mess in Module

 Mesh with transparency of 36% Shade configuration time is around 20 Minutes Performance is measured with the RGM (Revenue grade meter )

Result
Micro Inverter perform better in shading
String inverter stuck in the a local MPP causing current limited operation of the system NRELs result show that the approximately 50% of the energy lost due to shading by

string inverter ,specially in light shade condition

Micro inverter increase the harvested energy 4%,8% and 12% in light , medium and high shade condition

Result Summary with Graph

Inverter output V/S Shade area

Thank You.

Question & Answers