In this paper, the grid-connected photovoltaic system in Tochigi prefecture, Japan, is presented, and its technical and economic performance after eight years is evaluated. The system has a peak power of 40.1 kWp and has been in operation since 2012. The entire electricity generated by the system was fed into the state grid. The system is suitably monitored for one year (2019) and analyzed using the parameters developed and defined in the standard IEC 61724-1 by the International Electrotechnical Commission. The system’s different parameters included array yield, final yield, capacity utilization factor, and performance ratio of the system. An analytical model with solar irradiation obtained from Power Data Access Viewer was developed to investigate and evaluate the efficiency of the system monthly and annual energy generation by comparing the simulated and measured energy acquired from the inverter. A positive linear relationship is observed between solar irradiation data obtained from Power Data Access Viewer and the grid-connected photovoltaic system energy injected into the utility grid. While an annual total of 48,521 kWh of energy was expected to be generated, 38,071 kWh was generated and injected into the utility in 2019. This study also introduces and explains the mechanism of the Feed-In-Tariff system in Japan. The performance of the grid-connected photovoltaic system under this study was compared with that of other systems installed across the globe.
This paper presents an experimental investigation on photovoltaic array (PV array) power output affected by partial shading conditions (PSCs). An experiment setup of a PV array with a series configuration using 2 × 4 photovoltaic modules (PV modules) was built. The power output loss due to the shading effect on the first photovoltaic cells (PV cell) connected with bypass diodes of each photovoltaic module, installed in the PV array in the horizontal direction, was evaluated. Depending on the direction of the sun relative to the PV array configuration, the shading percentage was measured during the test and recorded the current and voltage of the PV array. The performance evaluation of the PV array configurations is referred to with respect to the values of maximum power voltage, the maximum power current, maximum power output, power output losses and fill factor (FF). The experimental results show that 44% shading of the first PV cells affects PV array power output loss by more than 80%.
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