Decrease in Off-Peak Electrical Energy Demand by Agroindustries Due to Photovoltaic Solar Generation

Abstract

The largest energy losses and voltage variations from electricity suppliers occur at times of peak demand. Daytime peaks are mainly influenced by large industrial and commercial consumers. The installation of photovoltaic systems without energy storage to supply part of the demand can contribute to stabilize the voltage and reduce losses. These and other benefits constitute the so-called externality of the decrease in off-peak demand due to photovoltaic generation. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of this externality in agroindustry, as a consumer of electrical energy, in order to better understand its effects on the consumer and the utility. The implementation of photovoltaic systems was simulated with the objective to reduce the off-peak contracted demand by agroindustries. Both the energy balance and the economic viability of the photovoltaic system implantation were analyzed. It was concluded that the photovoltaic system contributed to the reduction in energy costs, improved the load factor by about 47%, and reduced the off-peak contracted demand by about 20.2% and 54.2% for the small and medium-sized agroindustries considered, respectively.

Identification and Analysis of Impact Factors on the Economic Feasibility of Photovoltaic Energy Investments

“…For Eshraghi et al [35], the price of energy must be considered for each individual consumption plan. More specifically, Viana et al [4] consider several categories of consumers, based on the hours of electricity usage during the day, observing the peak hours. Finally, for Anagnostopoulos et al [105], the price of electricity by type of consumer varies to reflect as much as possible the real cost of generation and to reduce subsidies.…”

“…), and the different efficiencies of the system components. According to Viana et al [4], the use of the PV system would result in a reduction in the daily demand that would be contracted by the electricity grid, which, in turn, would generate savings, treated as financial income in the project's cash flow. This premise constitutes the effect of the decrease in demand due to the generation of electricity by the PV system.…”

“…As such, an incentive policy is recommended, in which the owners can sell the electricity generated by the PV systems and obtain benefits. Viana et al [4] state that the investment cost in PV generation systems is high and this makes access in the short term difficult; thus, improved policies are needed to encourage this generation of energy. However, as indicated in Spertino et al [5], the target for PV systems is to reach the grid parity, namely, the condition in which the generation cost using PV equals the price of the electricity taken from the grid.…”