Influence of Layout and Other Design Choices on the Performance of Large-Scale Photovoltaic Systems
Publication: Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 140, Issue 4
Abstract
The electrical performance of a photovoltaic system is influenced by the spatial layout of its components. As a result, designers must understand how to identify layouts that maximize power performance and best utilize land area. In response, this paper presents power performance analyses for a range of typical layout strategies, direct current (DC) power block sizes, and other related engineering considerations for large-scale photovoltaic systems. The results of this study suggest layout strategies that produce squarer DC power block footprint areas and/or that minimizing DC wiring lengths maximize the power output of the photovoltaic system. Additionally, these strategies are likely to minimize construction costs and cost-to-performance ratios. Ultimately, this paper is meant to further communicate the influence of layout on system performance and convey related trends to guide layout optimization explorations within large-scale photovoltaic construction projects.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This work is supported in part by the National Science Foundation through the Graduate Research Fellowship Program under grant 2008073003.
References
Charest, A. C. (2011). Electrical cost data 2012, 25th Ed., R.S. Means, Kingston, MA.
Curtright, A. E., and Apt, J. (2008). “The character of power out from utility-scale photovoltaic systems.” Progr. Photovoltaics: Res. Appl., 16(3), 241–247.
Earley, M. W., and Sargent, J. S. (2010). National Electrical Code 2011 handbook, 12th Ed., National Fire Protection Associations, Quincy, MA.
Gann, D. M., Wang, Y., and Hawkins, R. (1998). “Do regulations encourage innovation? The case of energy efficiency in housing.” Build. Res. Inf., 26(5), 280–296.
Gonzalez, J. S., Rodriguez, A. G., Mora, J. C., Santos, J. R., and Payan, M. B. (2010). “Optimization of wind farm turbines layout using an evolutive algorithm.” Renew. Energ., 35(8), 1671–1681.
Hastings, J. K., Juds, M. A., Luebke, C. J., and Pahl, B. (2011). “A study of ignition time for materials exposed to DC arcing in PV system.” Proc., 37th Int. IEEE Photovoltaic Specialist Conf., IEEE, New York, NY, 3724–3729.
Kusiak, A., and Song, Z. (2010). “Design of wind farm layout for maximum wind energy capture.” Renew. Energ., 35(3), 685–694.
NPD Solarbuzz. (2012a). “Solar energy market growth.” 〈http://www.solarbuzz.com/facts-and-figures/markets-growth/market-growth〉 (Mar. 12, 2012).
NPD Solarbuzz. (2012b). “Module pricing.” 〈http://www.solarbuzz.com/facts-and-figures/markets-growth/market-growth〉 (Mar. 12, 2012).
Tan, Z., Zhang, H., Xu, J., Wang, J., Yu, C., and Zhang, J. (2012). “Photovoltaic power generation in China: Development potential, benefits of energy conservation, and emission reduction.” J. Energy Eng., 73–86.
Wolfe, P. (2012). Solar photovoltaic projects in the mainstream power market, Routledge, New York, NY.
Yuventi, J. (2012b). “Interconnection wiring considerations in evaluating the value of large photovoltaic system designs.” Proc. 38th Int. IEEE Photovoltaic Specialist Conf., 80(1), 1545–1550.
Yuventi, J. (2012a). “A method for evaluating the influence of wiring on the performance of components in a photovoltaic system.” Sol. Energy, 86(10), 2996–3003.
Yuventi, J., Levitt, R. E., and Robertson, H. (2013). “Organizational barriers to productivity and innovation in US-based large-scale photovoltaic system construction projects.” Construct. Eng. Manage., 139(10).
Zhao, Q., Wang, P., and Goel, L. (2010). “Optimal PV panel tilt angle based on solar radiation prediction.” Proc., of the 11th IEEE Probabilistic Methods Applied to Power Systems (PMAPS) Conference, 425–430.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 140 • Issue 4 • December 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 22, 2013
Accepted: Jul 31, 2013
Published online: Aug 3, 2013
Discussion open until: Jul 6, 2014
Published in print: Dec 1, 2014
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.