Solar Radiation Fundamentals and PV System Components

Solar Radiation Fundamentals and PV
System Components
Parimita Mohanty, Tariq Muneer, Eulalia Jadraque Gago

and Yash Kotak
Abstract Solar PV technology has emerged as one of the most matured and fast
evolving renewable energy technologies and it is expected that it will play a major
role in the future global electricity generation mix. Keeping the rapid development
of the PV technology into consideration, this chapter systematically documents the
evolution of solar PV material as well as the PV applications and PV markets. It
also provides insight into the trend in batteries and inverters used for solar PV
applications. Furthermore, a comparative analysis of different PV technologies and
its development is summarized. The rest of the chapter aims at providing a com-
prehensive analysis of solar radiation measurement and modelling techniques to
assess the availability of solar radiation at different locations. The chapter presents
comprehensive information for solar energy engineers, architects and other
practitioners.
P. Mohanty (&)
The Climate Group, Nehru Place, New Delhi, India
e-mail: pmohanty@theclimategroup.org
T. Muneer
Edinburgh Napier University, 10 Colinton Road, Edinburgh EH 10 5DT, UK
e-mail: T.Muneer@Napier.ac.uk
E.J. Gago
University of Granada, School of Civil Engineering, Avenida Severo Ochoa S/N,
18071 Granada, Spain
e-mail: ejadraque@ugr.es
Y. Kotak
Heriot Watt University, Riccarton, Edinburgh EH 14 4AS, UK
e-mail: yk78@hw.ac.uk
Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 7

P. Mohanty et al. (eds.), Solar Photovoltaic System Applications,
Green Energy and Technology, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-14663-8_2
8 P. Mohanty et al.
1 Trends in Solar PV Technologies
1.1 Introduction
The global photovoltaic (PV) market in 2013 witnessed a massive growth with
38.4 GW (up from 30 GW in 2012) of new capacity around the globe and 11 GW
installed in Europe alone. The most important fact from 2013 was the rapid
development of PV in Asia both in terms of PV deployment and PV manufacturing
(REN 21, 2014).
The global photovoltaic (PV) market in 2004 was only 3.7 GW which signi-
cantly reached to 139 GW in 2013 and the major developing countries are
Germany, China, Italy, Japan, United States, Spain, France, United Kingdom,
Australia and Belgium (REN 21 2014).
Almost 11 GW of PV capacity was connected to the grid in Europe in 2013,
compared to 17.7 GW in 2012 and more than 22.4 GW in 2011. For the rst time
since 2003 Europe lost its leadership to Asia in terms of new installations. As
shown in Fig. 1, China was the top market in 2013 with 12.9 GW of which
500 MW represented off-grid systems. China was followed by Japan with 6.9 GW
and the USA with 4.8 GW (REN 21 2014).
Germany was the top European market with 3.3 GW. Several other European
markets exceeded the one GW mark: the UK (1.5 GW) and Italy (1.5 GW) (REN 21
2014).
Several European markets that performed well in the past went down in 2013, a
consequence of political decisions to reduce PV incentives, Belgian installations
went from 600 MW in 2012 to 215 MW in 2013, French went from 1,115 MW to
613 MW, and Danish went down from 300 MW to around 200 MW. Aside from
Fig. 1 Solar PV capacity and additions, top countries, 2013. Source REN 21 (2014)
Solar Radiation Fundamentals and PV System Components 9
the signicant decline in Germany and Italy, the size of the remaining European PV
market was stable, with around 6 GW per year in the last three years. Outside
Europe, several markets continued to grow at a reasonable pace: India with
1,115 MW, Korea with 442 MW, Thailand with 317 MW and Canada with
444 MW in 2013 (EPIA 2014).
A point worth mentioning is that since the earthquake- and tsunami-related
damage to the Fukushima plant in 2011, the Japanese energy policy is shifting away
from nuclear power generation and this may indeed help deployment of PV on a
much faster scale.
PV technology has the potential to contribute to at least 11 % of worlds elec-
tricity supply by the year 2050 (IEA 2010). The PV module itself accounts for
around half of total PV system cost. The costs of polysilicon and wafer production
could decline dramatically by 2015 driven by the increasing scale of production and
ongoing manufacturing innovations (see Fig. 2).
Building-integrated photovoltaic applications, commonly known as BIPV will
have an increasingly important role within any given nations energy matrix. In this
respect the introduction of Feed-in Tariff (FIT) by more than 40 countries has given
a major boost to the BIPV sector. Policies such as FIT will in the long term prove to
be instrumental in bringing down the PV electricity generation costs to grid parity.
A policy such as FIT promotes construction of high-quality systems and encourages
PV nancing and guaranteeing income over the life of the system. It also helps
bringing common masses within the energy generators group.
In March 2014, EPIA completed an extensive data collection exercise from a
highly representative sample of the PV industry. EPIA derived three scenarios for
the future development of PV markets (Masson et al. 2014).
2
1.8
PV module cost (USD/W)
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Year
Fig. 2 The crystalline silicon PV module price projections for European, North American and
Japanese manufacturers. Data source IRENA (2012)
10 P. Mohanty et al.
The High Scenario assumes the continuation, adjustment or introduction of

adequate support mechanisms, accompanied by a strong political will to con-
sider PV as a major power source in the coming years.
The Low Scenario assumes rather pessimistic market behaviour with no major
reinforcement or adequate replacement of existing support mechanisms, or a
strong decrease/limitation of existing schemes or no adequate policies.
The Medium Scenario weights the two previous scenarios according to the
probability of achieving them.
As shown in Fig. 3, in the Low Scenario, the global market could remain
between 35 and 39 GW annually in the coming ve years. The combination of
declining European markets and the difculty of establishing durable new markets
in emerging countries could cause this market stagnation.
MEA: Middle East and Africa. APAC: Asia Pacic.
In the High Scenario, the European market would rst grow around 13 GW in
2014 before increasing slowly again to around 17 GW by year 2019. The global
market could top more than 69 GW in 2018 (Fig. 4).
1.2 PV Technologies
Solar cell technologies in general are classied as wafer-based crystalline silicon

solar cell technology, thin-lm solar cell technology and other new emerging
technologies as shown in Fig. 5.
Fig. 3 Global annual market scenarios until 2018

Fig. 4 Evolution of global annual PV market scenarios per region until 2018. Source Global
market outlook for photovoltaics (20142018), EPIA
Fig. 5 Classication of solar

cell technologies
Out of the different solar PV technologies, there are two basic commercial PV
module technologies available on the market today that are used by the Solar PV
sector:
1. Wafer-based Solar cells made from crystalline silicon either as single or poly-
crystalline wafers.
2. Thin-lm products typically incorporate very thin layers of photovoltaic active
material placed on a glass superstrate or a metal substrate using vacuum
deposition manufacturing techniques similar to those employed in the coating of
architectural glass. Like-with-like, commercial thin-lm materials deliver
roughly half the output of a thick crystalline PV array.
1.3 Market Share of Different PV Technologies
Thin-lm production market share in the global solar PV market grew from a mere
5 % in 2005 to 33 % in 2014, thin-lm solar PV, as shown in Fig. 6, is set to
increase its share to 38 % by 2020 (Reporlinker 2011).
1.4 Trend in PV Technology Research
The public budgets for PV research and development in 2012 in the International
Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power System Programme (IEA PVPS) countries are
outlined in Table 1. The most signicant reporting countries in terms of R&D
funding are the USA, Germany, Korea, Japan, Australia, France and China.
Governments are clearly identifying the benets of this technologys further
Fig. 6 Market share of the different PV technologies

Table 1 Public budgets for Countries R&D in Mn USD Increase from 2011
research and development in
2012 in the IEA PVPS Austria 11.7 (2011) N/A
countries Australia 26.9 14 %
Denmark 4.32 8 %
Canada 12 21 %
China 79 N/A
France 128 (35 years) 15 %
Germany 66 N/A
Italy 7.4 8 %
Japan 130 28 %
Korea 118 26 %
Netherlands 35 40 %
Norway 14 N/A
Sweden 11.3 20 %
USA 262 Stable
Source IEA (2013)
development, better integration with existing energy systems and the benets of
innovation (IEA 2013).
With the aim of achieving further signicant cost reductions and efciency
improvements, R&D is predicted to continuously progress in improving existing
technologies and developing new technologies. In February 2011, Department of
Energy (DOE) launched the SunShot Initiative, a programme focused on driving
innovation to make solar energy systems cost-competitive with other forms of
unsubsidized energy. In Germany, R&D is being conducted under the new 6th
Programme on Energy Research Research for an Environmental Friendly, Reliable
and Economically Feasible Energy Supply which came into force in August 2011.
Activities have three focal points: Organic solar cells, thin-lm solar cells (with
emphasis on topics such as material sciences including nanotechnology, new
experimental or analytical methods), and the cluster called Solar valley
Mitteldeutschland in which most of the German PV industry participates. In
Belgium, almost all PV technologies are studied: Organic, back-contact crystalline
silicon, printed CIGS and CPV. Norway focuses mainly on the silicon value chain
from feedstock to cells, but also fundamental material research and production
processes (IEA 2013).
It is expected that a broad variety of technologies will continue to characterise
the PV technology portfolio, depending on the specic requirements and economics
of the various applications. Organic thin-lm PV cells, using dye or organic
semiconductors, have created interest and research, development and demonstration
activities are underway. Figure 7 gives an overview of the different PV technologies
and concepts under development.
As shown in Table 1, the main challenge for c-Si modules is to improve the
efciency and effectiveness of resource consumption through materials reduction,
Fig. 7 Photovoltaic technology status and prospects. Source IEA Technology Roadmap, 2010
improved cell concepts and automation of manufacturing. Current commercial

single c-Si modules have a higher conversion efciency of around 1420 %. Their
efciency is expected to increase up to 23 % by 2020 and up to 25 % in the longer
term. Multi-crystalline silicon modules have a more disordered atomic structure
leading to lower efciencies, but they are less expensive. Their efciency is
expected to increase up to 21 % in the long term.
As shown in Table 2, the most promising R&D areas include improved device
structures and substrates, large area deposition techniques, interconnection,
roll-to-roll manufacturing and packaging. Similarly, the technology goals and key
R&D issues for thin-lm technologies are shown in Table 3.
Table 2 Technology goals and key R&D issues for crystalline silicon technologies
Crystalline 20102015 20152020 20202030/2050
silicon
technologies
Efciency target redundant (commercial module)
Single crystalline 21 % 23 % 25 %
Multi-crystalline 17 % 19 % 21 %
Industry Si consumption <5 g/W Si consumption <3 g/W Si consumption <2 g/W
manufacturing
R&D New silicon materials Improved device New device structure
and processing structure; with novel concepts
Cost optimization
Source IEA Technology Roadmap (2010)
Table 3 Technology goals and key R&D issues for thin-lm technologies
Thin-lm 20102015 20152020 20202030/2050
technologies
Efciency target in % (commercial module)
Thin-lm 10 % 12 % 15 %
silicon
CIGS 14 % 15 % 18 %
CdTe 12 % 14 % 15 %
Industry Roll-to-roll Low-cost packaging Large high-efciency
manufacturing manufacturing simplied production production unit
packaging process
R&D Large area Improved deposition New device structure with
deposition process technique novel concepts
Source IEA technology Roadmap, 2010
1.5 Materials, Cells and Modules
Silicon continues to be the basic material used for the production of PV modules.
Of all the semiconductor materials, the electrical, optical and physical properties of
silicon have been most rigorously researched. Silicon-based PV cells have proven
to offer good reliability in outer space as well as terrestrial applications. Other
materials, such as gallium arsenide (GaAs) and cadmium telluride (CdTe), are more
expensive. A disadvantage of silicon is that it is expensive to purify.
1.6 Physical Characteristics
Solar cells for terrestrial applications are typically made from silicon as
single-crystal, polycrystalline or amorphous solids.
Single-crystal silicon is the most efcient because the crystal is free of grain
boundaries, which are defects in the crystal structure caused by variations in the
lattice that tend to decrease the electrical and thermal conductivity of the
material. They can be thought of as barriers to electron flow.
Polycrystalline silicon has obvious grain boundaries; the portions of single
crystals are visible to the naked eye.
Amorphous silicon (a-Si) is the non-crystalline form of silicon where the atoms
are arranged in a relatively haphazard way. Due to the disordered nature of the
material, some atoms have a dangling bond that disrupts the flow of electrons.
Amorphous silicon has lowest power conversion efciencies of the three types,
but is the least expensive to produce.
1.6.1 Single Crystal or Monocrystalline Silicon Cell
The work horse of PV industry has always been the crystalline silicon cell, fabri-
cated from a single crystal or cast polycrystalline silicon that is sliced into wafer of
about 10 10 cm area and 350 m thickness as shown in Fig. 8.
These cells show efciencies between 13 and 15 % depending on the material
quality and the specic cell technology.
The single crystal of silicon is dened as having a grain size greater than 10 cm.
Modules made of this type of cell are the most mature on the market. Reliable
manufacturers of this type of PV module offer guarantees of up to 2025 years at
80 % of nameplate rating.
1.6.2 Polycrystalline or Multicrystalline Silicon
These cells are made up of various silicon crystals formed from an ingot. They are
also sliced and then doped and etched. They demonstrate conversion efciencies
slightly lower than those of monocrystalline cells, generally from 13 to 15 %.
Reliable manufacturers typically guarantee polycrystalline PV modules for
20 years. Multicrystalline and polycrystalline cells respectively have grain sizes
which are 1 m1 mm and 1 mm10 cm. Nanocrystalline cells have grain size of
less than 100 nm. Figure 9 shows an example of polycrystalline cell.
Today, the vast majority of PV modules (8590 % of the global annual market)
are based on wafer-based c-Si. Crystalline silicon PV modules are expected to
remain a dominant PV technology until at least 2020, with a forecasted market
share of about 50 % by that time. This is due to their proven and reliable
Fig. 8 A monocrystalline
silicon cell
Fig. 9 A polycrystalline silicon cell (Lund et al., 2008)
technology, long lifetimes, and abundant primary resources. The main challenge for
c-Si modules is to improve the efciency (see Table 2) and effectiveness of resource
consumption through materials reduction, improved cell concepts and automation
of manufacturing (IEA International Energy Agency 2013).
1.7 Semiconductors
Semiconductors such as gallium arsenide (GaAs), aluminium gallium arsenide

(AlGaAs), indium antimonide (InSb) and indium phosphide (InP) have consider-
able interest owing to their good characteristics. Most of these solar cells offer high
efciencies under increased irradiance and hence are ideally suited for concentrating
devices. On the loss side, the optical losses accounted for up to 10 % of the incident
energy. Further, concentrators do not effectively focus diffuse solar energy, and
therefore their applications are restricted to sunny locations.
Concentrators approaching 40 % efciency have been investigated: a
multi-junction and tandem arrangement has been used. In a tandem arrangement
two or more cells are stacked such that light not absorbed but passing through the
top cell is utilized by the bottom device.
1.8 Thin Film (Non-silicon)
The high cost of crystalline silicon solar cell is primarily for its high cost of Si
wafers, which constitute 4050 % of the cost of the nished modules. Therefore,
thin-lm technology came into picture with the objective of reducing the cost of the
material by using lesser quantity of absorbing material. The selected materials are
all strong light absorbers and only need to be about 1 micron thick. Thus material
costs are signicantly reduced. Some of the most attractive materials used for
thin-lm solar cells are a-Si: H, cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper indium disele-
nide (CIS) and copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS).
Thin-lm modules are constructed by depositing extremely thin layers of pho-
tosensitive materials onto a low-cost backing such as glass, stainless steel or plastic.
Thin-lm solar cells consist of layers of active materials about 10 nm thick. The
individual cells deposited next to each other, instead of being mechanically
assembled. In order to build up a practically useful voltage from thin-lm cells,
their manufacture usually includes a laser scribing sequence that enables the front
and back of adjacent cells to be directly interconnected in series with no need for
further solder connection between cells.
However, commercially available thin-lm PV has not attained eld efciencies
greater than 10 %, as compared with the 1618 % efciency of crystalline silicon
PV modules. Though laboratory tests have yielded promising thin-lm efciencies,
manufacturers have not yet translated the high efciencies and high yields of
smaller, laboratory-constructed thin lms up to production volumes.
Leading contenders are copper indium diselenide (CuInSe2), copper indium
sulphide (CuInS2), copper indium telluride (CuInTe2), cadmium sulphide (CdS),
and cadmium telluride (CdTe).
The main advantages of thin lms are their relatively low consumption of raw
materials, high automation and production efciency, ease of building integration
and improved appearance, good performance at high ambient temperature, and
reduced sensitivity to overheating. The current drawbacks are lower efciency and
the industrys limited experience with lifetime performances.
1.9 Amorphous Thin Film
The rst thin-lm solar cell produced was amorphous silicon (a-Si). Amorphous
thin lms have evolved from an efciency of 25 % to above 12 %. Stability
concerns have, however, been reported for this technology. Changes in perfor-
mance after exposure to light are well known and the reported efciencies seem to
be those measured before any light-induced changes occurred. Figure 10 shows
thin-lm PV modules.
Based on early a-Si single junction cells, amorphous tandem and triple cell
conguration have been developed. To reach higher efciencies, thin amorphous
and microcrystalline silicon cells have been combined to form micromorph cells
(also called thin hybrid silicon cells). Another option currently being researched is
the combination of single-crystalline and amorphous PV cell technology. The HIT
(heterojunction with intrinsic thin layer cells) technology is based on a crystalline
silicon cell coated with a supplementary amorphous PV cell to increase the
efciency.
Fig. 10 Thin-lm PV
modules
1.10 Emerging Solar PV Technology
Emerging Solar Photovoltaic technologies, such as organic PV cells and

dye-sensitized solar cells are still under demonstration and have not yet been
commercially deployed on a large scale. They are also called third-generation solar
PV technology and have been described below:
1. Dye-sensitized solar cells use photoelectrochemical solar cells, which are based
on semiconductor structures formed between a photosensitised anode and an
electrolyte. In a typical DSSC, the semiconductor nanocrystals serve as antennae
that harvest the sunlight (photons) and the dye molecule is responsible for the
charge separation (photocurrent). It is unique in that it mimics natural photo-
synthesis. These cells are attractive because they use low-cost materials and are
simple to manufacture. They release electrons from, for example titanium
dioxide covered by a light absorbing pigment. However, their performance can
degrade over time with exposure to UV light and the use of a liquid electrolyte
can be problematic when there is a risk of freezing. Laboratory efciencies of
around 15 % have been achieved due to the development of new broadband
dyes and electrolytes, however, commercial efciencies are lowtypically
under 45 %. The main reason why efciencies of DSSC are low is because
there are very few dyes that can absorb a broad spectral range. An interesting
area of research is the use of nanocrystalline semiconductors that can allow
DSSCs to have a broad spectral coverage. Thousands of organic dyes have been
studied and tested in order to design, synthesize and assemble nanostructured
materials that will allow higher power conversion efciencies for DSSCs. DSSC
are currently the most efcient third generation solar technology available.
2. Organic solar cells are composed of organic or polymer materials (such as
organic polymers or small organic molecules). They are inexpensive, but not
very efcient. They are emerging as a niche technology, but their future
development is not clear. Their success in recent years has been due to many
signicant improvements that have led to higher efciencies. Organic PV
module efciencies are now in the range 45 % for commercial systems and 6
8 % in the laboratory. In addition to the low efciency, a major challenge for
organic solar cells is their instability over time. Organic cell production uses
high-speed and low-temperature roll-to-roll manufacturing processes and stan-
dard printing technologies.
As a result, organic solar cells may be able to compete with other PV tech-
nologies in some applications, because manufacturing costs are continuing to
decline and are expected to reach USD 0.50/W by 2020. Organic cells can be
applied to plastic sheets in a manner similar to the printing and coating industries,
meaning that organic solar cells are lightweight and flexible, making them ideal for
mobile phones, laptops, radios, flashlights, toys and almost any hand-held device
that uses a battery. The modules can be xed almost anywhere to anything, or they
can be incorporated into the housing of a device. They can also be rolled up or
folded for storage when not in use. These properties will make organic PV modules
attractive for building-integrated applications as it will expand the range of shapes
and forms where PV systems can be applied. Another advantage is that the tech-
nology uses abundant non-toxic materials and is based on a very scalable process.
1.11 Efciency
The performance of a solar cell is measured in terms of its conversion efciency at

converting sunlight into electricity, i.e. the efciency of a PV device is dened in
terms of the power produced from the incident photons. The common approach is to
obtain the light-generated currentvoltage (IV) characteristics and ascertain the
maximum power point. The standard measurement and reporting conditions are
dened by reference to spectral irradiance, total irradiance, temperature and area of
the device.
The following standard test conditions are used when quoting cell efciencies for
terrestrial applications: global irradiance = 1000 W/m2, AM (air-mass) 1.5 and a
temperature of 25 C. The entire frontal area of the PV cell, including the grid, is
taken into account when measuring its performance. The module takes into account
the total area including the frame.
A typical commercial solar cell has an efciency of 15 %about one-sixth of
the sunlight striking the cell generates electricity. Improving solar cell efciencies
while holding down the cost per cell is an important goal of the PV industry.
The following graph (Fig. 11) shows the best research cell efciency of different
PV technologies published by NREL National Center for Photovoltaics (2014).
As shown in Fig. 11, First Solar, Inc. set a world record for a cadmium telluride
module conversion efciency of 16.1 percent. This means that thin-lm solar
panels, which are much cheaper to produce, are getting more efcient.
Fig. 11 NREL chart of record solar cell performance
1.12 PV Modules
A PV module or panel is a grouping of PV cells. The voltage generated by a single

PV cell is inconveniently low. Several cells are always joined in series so that their
voltages add up to a more useful value. The series connection of cells forms a unit
called a PV module. The front consists of a window of low-iron glass with high
transmission characteristic, which protects the surface of the PV material. Figure 12
below shows the connection of PV cells that form a module.
1.13 PV String
A string is a group of modules which are wired in series. This is to increase the
voltage as modern solar electric DC systems operate minimum at 48 volts nominal,
and for high-voltage grid-tied systems produce up to 600 volts. Figure 13 shows an
example of a PV string.
1.14 PV Array
One of the attractions of PV modules is that connecting modules to form array may
increase the power rating of a system. Within a PV array, there are basically two
methods of connection between modules.
Fig. 12 Connection of PV cells that form a module
Fig. 13 An example of a PV string (Mason et al. 2008)
To increase the array voltage, modules are connected in series, known as series
string. To increase the generating capacity without changing the array voltage,
strings of modules are connected in parallel. Figure 14 shows a PV array connected
in a series string.
Fig. 14 PV array connected in a series string (Mason et al. 2008)
1.15 Size and Shape
PV cells generally come in the form of rectangular panels of variable sizes, or in the
form of individual solar slates, that are installed on the roof in very much the same
way as roof tiles. Both the rectangular panels, and the solar slates, are invariably
tted in multiples and they can be tted in any conguration. For example, they can
be tted in portrait format, landscape format, in the shape of a T (to avoid roof
lights), or in a random format.
The solar slates are always integrated into the roof but the rectangular panels can
either be integrated into the roof or tted on mounting brackets above the roof. The
chosen installation method has no effect on the output of the panels. In general PV
systems in buildings are sized in such a way that the PV system can meet the
building loads either fully or partially and still function reliably. In stand-alone and
hybrid systems, the batteries and/or backup system (i.e. diesel generator) must
deliver the electricity during long overcast periods. In grid-connected systems, there
is no storage component because the grid acts as a buffer.
The key factors affecting the system sizing are the load size, the operation time,
the location of the system and a possible sizing safety margin. Besides that, the
available roof or facade area can restrict the PV array size. Finally, the most
important restriction for PV system sizing is the available budget. Roof/facade area
and budget are typically the key restrictions for the design of a grid-connected PV
house.
1.16 Structure Support and Fixing
Modules may be mounted on a pole, a ground support, a wall of a building, a

building or vehicle roof or on a boat deck. The main considerations are day-long
access to unobstructed sunlight and cable lengths to batteries.
Ideally, panels should be placed so that they are perpendicular to the noon-day
sun, i.e. facing the equator and at an angle of inclination approximately equal to the
angle of latitude, although they will function when mounted flat. A steeper angle of
inclination will enhance output during winter months when the sun is lower in the
sky at the expense of some reduced output in summer. Mounting frames can easily
be fabricated. To avoid electrolytic corrosion aluminium angle and plated or
stainless steel nuts and bolts should be used. Furthermore, mounts should be strong
and capable of withstanding wind. Alternatively, a range of high-quality standard
kits are available. These are pre-drilled to accept modules and include stainless steel
fasteners.
1.17 Comparative Analysis of Different PV Technologies
Table 4 compares the PV technologies and PV devices. The comparison includes

the efciencies of the various PV modules (at an air mass index of 1.5), the area
required to produce 1 kW of electricity, the stage of commercialization, the
advantages and the drawbacks of the respective technologies.
1.18 Trend in Batteries
The majority of current energy generation is based on fossil fuels. There are a series
of issues related to fossil fuels: continuous increase in demand for coal, oil and
natural gas, depletion of non-renewable resources and dependency on politically
unstable oil producing countries. Another worrying concern about fossil fuels is the
CO2 emission, which has almost doubled since 1970, resulting in rise in global
temperature. Hence, it is essential that the present energy generation should be
replaced urgently by clean energy sources. The CO2 issue and consequent air
pollution can be globally controlled by the deployment of mature renewable energy
resources like wind and solar power plants. However, the intermittence of these
resources requires high efciency energy storage systems. Electrochemical systems
Table 4 Comparison between PV technologies and PV devices
Technology Photovoltaic PV Module Area State of Advantages Drawbacks
Device Efciency at Reqd/kW Commercialization
AM 1.5 (%) (m2)
Wafer-based Monocrystalline 1519 7 Mature with large Suitable for applications in low to warm Operates at decreased
Silicon scale production temperature areas and where there are efciencies in higher
space constraints temperature
Less shadow tolerance
Polycrystalline 1315 8 Mature with large Lower manufacturing cost as compared to Less space efcient than
scale production monocrystalline mono-crystalline
Higher shadow tolerance than Less durable than
monocrystalline mono-crystalline
Less temperature
tolerance than
mono-crystalline
Thin-lm Amorphous 58 15 Early deployment High shadow tolerance Strong performance
cells silicon phase with Low manufacturing cost degradation under light
medium scale Serial connection of cells can be done exposure
production during manufacture Low space efciency
Solar Radiation Fundamentals and PV System Components
a-Si cells dominate the small output

market (clocks, calculators, etc.)
Cadmium 811 11 Early deployment Lowest specic cost (cost/watt) Cd and Te are toxic
telluride phase with small Low degradation rate (* 0.9 %/yr) materials, although the
scale production Serial connection is easy and in an compound is stable and
integral manner over a large substrate harmless
Low availability of Te
CIGS 711 10 Early deployment Flexible production technology. High manufacturing cost
phase with High scope of improvement in future compared to the
medium scale efciency obtained
production Low availability of
Indium
25
(continued)
Table 4 (continued)
26
Technology Photovoltaic PV Module Area State of Advantages Drawbacks

Device Efciency at Reqd/kW Commercialization
AM 1.5 (%) (m2)
New CPV 2530 Just Highest efciency achieved in PV High manufacturing cost
emerging commercialized, technology Requires two axis
technologies small scale tracking, which further
production adds to the cost.
Organic PV 1% R&D stage Innite variability of starting materials Long term stability and
and low cost protection against
manufacturing processes environmental influences
Energy payback time is expected to be are signicant challenge
short
Dye sensitized 15 % R&D stage Less stringent purity requirement of Low photocurrent
solar cell starting material and a simple processing efciency with respect to
without clean room step is possible as incident light.
surface/bulk recombination cannot happen Decreased stability with
time and over different
temperature ranges.
P. Mohanty et al.
such as batteries can efciently store and deliver energy demand in stand-alone
power plants, as well as provide power quality and load levelling of the electrical
grid in integrated systems (Scrosati and Garche 2010). For more than a century,
people have been familiar with battery technology. This section presents analysis of
the trend of battery technology which has become a key component for very many
applications.
In 1801, the rst battery was invented by Alessandro Volta by alternating one
upon the other stacked Copper and Zinc (Cu/Zn) plates and these plates were
separated by cloths, which were soaked in acids. Table 5 describes the brief his-
torical overview of battery technology (Birke et al. 2010).
Of all battery technologies, lead acid batteries have had the longest developmental
history. They came into market in early nineteenth century and due to its advantages
like low manufacturing cost, good performance and long life, it still holds 4045 % of
the market. Similarly, Nickel cadmium batteries are mature and thoroughly tested
having been patented in 1899. It is used in a wide variety of stationary and portable
applications. However, due to stricter European environmental legislation, these
batteries are expected to be gradually phased out from Europe. Further, the nickel
metal hydride battery technology was developed in the early 1990s which offered the
same cell voltage as nickel cadmium batteries, and was used to replace them in many
applications without any modications. Cell voltage combined with higher energy
density and environmental properties are the major driving forces that enabled the
present market share capture of nickel cadmium batteries.
As compared to metal hydride batteries, currently lithium-ion batteries are also
widely used and have more benets: high energy density levels, relatively high
Table 5 Historical overview of batteries

Year Technology
1802 Ritters column (rst secondary battery) In 1802 he built the rst accumulator with 50
copper discs separated by cardboard discs moistened by a salt solution
1859 First lead acid (Pb) battery
1899 First nickel cadmium (NiCd) battery (pocket plates)
1901 Nickel iron battery
1950s Serial production of sealed nickel cadmium production
1972 Development of NaS (sodiumsulphur batteries) high temperature batteries
1980 CSIR Laboratory development of NaNiCl (sodium nickel chloride) ZEBRA battery
1983 Lithium metal rechargeable
1990 Introduction of nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries (Sanyo) with higher energy
density and banned cadmium
1991 Introduction of lithium-ion batteries (Sony): Cobalt based
1996 Manganese-based lithium-ion batteriescost optimized
1999 Lithium ion polymer
2002 Introduction of NMC cathode material
2004 Introduction LiFePO4 cathode material
Table 6 Li-Ion battery characteristics, Serra (2012)

Factor NCA LFP LMO LTO
Specic energy 170 140 150 150
(Wh/kg)
Maturity Most proven Electronic Safety and durability Safety and
monitoring needs proving durability
need needs proving
proving
Life expectance Good Moderate High High
Safety Least thermal Least risk Better than NCA, Better than
stability, high charge of some thermal LMO and
thermal runway overcharge instability expected NCA
Cost High Low High Highest
voltages and a low weight to volume ratio. However, still metal hydride batteries
are used in some applications or as a low cost alternative to lithium ion. In practical
terms, the term Liion covers a broad range of chemical composition. The four
main types are (a) lithium nickel cobalt aluminium (NCA), (b) lithium iron phos-
phate (LFP), (c) lithium manganese polymer (LMO) and (d) lithium titanate (LTO).
Table 6 provides details of all four types of Li-ion batteries.
Besides Li-ion batteries, another rising technology in market is high temperature
batteries, i.e. sodium nickle chloride (NaNiCl) and sodium sulphur (NaS). The
difference between high temperature batteries and other commercial batteries like
leadacid is that high temperature batteries have liquid electrode and a ceramic
solid state electrolyte. High temperature is necessary to keep electrode in a molten
state and to achieve sufcient ion conductivity in the electrolyte. Only molten
electrodes can take part in charge or discharge reaction.
Currently, NaS batteries are only used in stationary application such as load
levelling of electricity supply. In this case the battery is charged during the
night-time to store cheap energy and discharged during the daytime peak load
period. Similarly, NaNiCl2 can also be used in stationary applications but some
developers use in electric vehicles as well.
In general, a battery is composed of several electrochemical cells stacked
together. A typical cell conguration has three primary elements: a negative elec-
trode (anode), a positive electrode (cathode) and both of them are immersed in an
electrolyte (electrically conductive) substance. Hence, the battery-based energy
storage systems are burdened by hefty battery packing and its overall weight
challenge. Research done by Ehsani et al. (2004) shows that 26 % of a battery
packs overall weight is directly associated with the energy production process. It is
mainly due to a need of sealed casing to prevent harmful chemicals from leaking
into environment and to the wiring and electrical accessories. Hence, most of the
current research is linked with specic energy of the battery. Specic energy is also
known as gravimetric energy density. It is used to dene the amount of energy the
battery can store per unit mass. It is usually expressed in Wh/kg (Garcia-Valle and
Table 7 Comparison of energy densities by battery types

Battery type Theoretical specic energy Practical specic energy
(Wh/kg) (Wh/kg)
Lead acid (Pb) 161 2040
Nickel cadmium (NiCd) 240 2545
Nickel zinc (NiZn) 320 4580
Nickel metal hydride 300 4580
(NiMh)
Zinc bromine (ZnBr) 435 5090
Sodium nickle chloride 720 80110
(NaNiCl)
Sodium sulphur (NaS) 795 90140
Lithium ion (Li-Ion) 450 70200
Peas-Lopes 2013). Table 7 indicates the theoretical and practical specic energy of
various types of batteries.
For the deployment of renewable resources it is essential that the battery cost
should be as low as possible and hence understanding the battery cost breakdown is
important to assess the potential to reduce the overall battery cost. In terms of
battery cost breakdown, there are three main categories which require consider-
ation: materials, manufacturing and other items (corporate overhead, research and
development, marketing, transportation, warranty cost and prot). Each of these
categories is disaggregated into cell, module and pack level integration. A single
cell is a complete battery with two current leads and separate compartment holding
electrode, separator and electrolyte. A module is composed of a few cells either by
physical attachments or by welding in between cells. A pack of batteries is com-
posed of modules and placed in single containing for thermal management. Table 8
shows the battery cost breakdown of Li-ion batteries on the basis of cell, module
and pack level (Anderson 2009).
Though the cost mentioned in Table 4 is reliable, there are several major
problems associated with the estimation of battery cost. It is often difcult to
determine exactly what the battery cost comprises, i.e. is it the cost of battery cells
or battery pack? Does it include the cost of the full energy management systems? Is
it a cost target set by the manufacturer? Is it a cost of unit purchase or large batch?
Such questions need to be addressed before considering the battery cost. Table 9
illustrates the historical per energy cost of Liion batteries and energy density.
Table 8 Cost breakdown of Li-ion battery ($/kWh)

Level of integration Cost category Total ($/kWh)
Materials Manufacturing Other
Cell 734.53 23.15 86.90 844.59
Module 771.79 26.77 86.90 885.47
Pack 864.38 31.68 230.27 1126.33
Table 9 Yearly comparisons Year Battery cost ($/kWh) Energy density (Wh/L)
of battery cost and energy
density, Whitmore (2014) 2008 1000 590
2009 900 700
2010 800 800
2011 620 1100
2012 500 1390
2013 300 1500
Energy density is the volumetric energy density, i.e. nominal battery energy per unit
volume. It is often expressed as Wh/L.
In present market, Liion batteries are widely considered as one of the most
promising technologies. However, for decades, many researchers are working to
improve its performance (Lache et al. 2008). Some of the research aspects include
(a) transition to cheaper and less toxic electrode materials (cathodes) including
phosphate, and silicates, (b) transition to materials that have higher, reversible
lithium reception, i.e. greater absorption of lithium leads to higher battery capacity
(c) the development of materials that can withstand rapid charges (d) batteries for
automotive and stationary applications, i.e. power supplies and energy supplies
(d) Increased cell size in a form of stored energy capacity (e) battery system with
high voltage level, including electrolyte that can withstand higher electrode
potential without degrading or reacting with environment (f) battery system with
enhanced safety as compared to current battery types.
Lastly, it can be concluded that Liion technology has not yet reached to its full
potential. It started competing in the market since 2012 and there are many
improvements needed. However, for low end applications, Lead acid or Nickel
Zinc will still be interesting options and according to researchers (Pillot 2014), lead
acid battery will be at rst position till 2020 in terms of volume and cost.
1.19 Trend in Inverters
The inverter is an essential component of a PV system as it is responsible for the

effective conversion of the variable DC output of the PV modules into clean,
sinusoidal AC current with the required frequency of either 50 Hz or 60 Hz. The
optimal sizing of an inverter is dependent on the output from the PV generator
which is controlled by the local climate, the surface orientation and inclination of
the modules. PV modules have negative temperature coefcients of power that
affect the power output which is dependent on solar radiation, cell temperature and
the solar spectrum. The cell temperature, however, rises as the intensity of irradi-
ance increases thereby limiting the optimum performance of the modules below the
nominal DC power.
A reduction in the intensity of the radiation that reaches the surface of the
module reduces its output power below its rated capacity thereby causing the
inverter to operate under part load conditions with reduced system efciency if the
inverter is not properly sized. For optimum performance of a PV system, the rated
capacity of the inverter should be higher than the rated capacity of the system in
order to prevent operations at overload conditions. Improper sizing of inverters thus
increases the total energy costs.
The selection of an inverter is dependent on its optimal features such as ef-
ciency, frequency regulation, low standby losses, power correction factor, ease of
servicing, cost and reliability. The inverters modularity facilitates continuous
scaling of its capacity to optimize energy for all conditions including lower irra-
diance conditions. One distinct feature of the high yield inverter is its ability to
automatically recongure itself for continuous power generation in the event of any
module inverter trip. It also has inbuilt mechanisms that rotate the standby and
active duty of each module in order to share generating capacity thereby extending
the service life of the inverter. At lower solar irradiation level, the inverter auto-
matically resizes its modular solution to match the power output of the modules.
A picture of an inverter is shown in Fig. 15 below.
Various types of inverter are used in solar PV applications.These are given
below:
1.19.1 Single Stage/Central Inverter
The single-stage inverter (central inverter) is widely used for large scale power
applications. Here, the single power processing stage takes care of all the tasks of
maximum power point tracking (MPPT), voltage amplication and grid-side cur-
rent control. In this conguration, the solar modules are connected in series to
create strings with output voltage high enough to avoid an additional voltage boost
stage. In order to obtain the desired power level, the strings are connected in parallel
through interconnection diodes (string diodes) as shown in Fig. 16.
Although this conguration is widely used, the global efciency of the gener-
ation system is effectively reduced. The main reason of reduced performance is due
to the centralized MPPT control that xes a common operating point for all PV
modules (shaded as well as unshaded) whereas different operating point should be
Fig. 15 An Emerson inverter

Fig. 16 Connections of solar PV strings
adopted for each module in order to extract the maximum power from the source.
Because of these limitations, more advanced inverter topology is used based on the
use of PV elds arranged in strings rather than arrays.
1.19.2 Double or Multi-stage Inverter
Here each string is connected to a double- or a single-stage inverter. If a large

number of modules are connected in series to obtain an open circuit voltage higher
than 360 V, the DC/DC converter can be eliminated. On the other hand, if a few
number of PV modules are connected in series; a DC/DC boost converter is used.
The DCDC converter is responsible for the MPPT and the DCAC inverter
controls the grid current.
1.19.3 Multi-string Multi-stage Inverters with High Frequency

Transformer
Another topology adopted is multi-string; multi-stage inverter. The multi-string

inverter has been developed to combine the advantage of higher energy yield of a
string inverter with the lower costs of a central inverter. Lower power DC/DC
converters are connected to individual PV strings. Each PV string has its own
MPPT, which independently optimizes the energy output from each PV string. All
DC/DC converters are connected via a DC bus through a central inverter to the grid.
Depending on the size of the string the input voltage ranges between 125 and
750 V. Here system efciency is higher due to the application of MPPT control on
each string and higher flexibility comes from the ease of extensions for the pho-
tovoltaic eld. This topology is more convenient for power levels below 10 kW.
The multi-string inverters provide a very wide input voltage range (due to the
additional DC/DC-stage) which gives the user better freedom in the design of the
PV system. However, the disadvantages are that it requires two power conversion
stages to allow individual tracking at the inputs.
1.19.4 Inverter Conversion Efciency
Figure 17 presents the performance of a range of inverters.

Figure 17 shows that the efciency range for all the inverters varies from 94.5 to
98.7 %. In the medium scale range (1020 kW), there are several inverters available
with the European (euro) efciency range of 9798 % and the incremental cost of
these inverters is not much than that of the low efciency inverter (generally USD
50/kW).
The European Efciency is an averaged operating efciency over a yearly
power distribution corresponding to middle-Europe climate. This was proposed by
the Joint Research Center (JRC/Ispra), based on the Ispra climate (Italy), and is now
referenced on almost any inverter datasheet.
Thus the project designer can evaluate the cost versus benet of the inverter in
terms of the enhanced efciency.
1.19.5 Charge Controllers
The charge controller is an essential component in any PV/battery system as it

prevents the batteries from damage that may arise from being overly discharged or
overcharged. It controls the flow of current to and from the batteries once the
maximum or minimum point of charge and discharge has been reached. Since most
batteries hardly recover after exceeding the maximum depth of discharge, the
integration of controllers in PV systems prevents this occurrence thereby extending
the service life of the batteries. There are different types of charge controllers with
Fig. 17 Power rating versus euro efciency of inverters

different operation mechanisms namely shunt controls, single-stage controls,

multi-stage controls and pulse controls.
Shunt controllers are designed and utilised in small systems as they primarily
prevent the flow of current that may result to overcharging by alienating the bat-
teries once they have been fully charged. This is achieved by monitoring the
maximum point of charge for the batteries and converting the excess power into
heat. This heat is then dissipated by the shunt controllers which have heat sinks that
require adequate ventilation for cooling.
With single-stage controllers, the batteries are protected once they are fully
charged by switching off the current. The predetermined full state of charge is the
charge termination set point (CTSP). At any point in the system when the battery
power is drained up to the minimum discharge set point, the single state controller
reconnects the power source to enable charging. This point is the change
resumption set point (CRSP). The utilization of sensors by the single state con-
trollers for the prevention of reverse current flow helps in the reduction of the heat
produced as they break the circuit thereby eradicating the need for ventilation.
In PV/battery systems that utilize multi-stage controllers, the batteries are charged
automatically based on their state of charge at any time. The flow of current is
permitted once the batteries are at a low charge state. Dissipation of the array power
occurs when the batteries approach full charge state. This mechanism helps prolong
the service life of the batteries. Multi-stage controllers like the shunt controllers, also
require ventilation as heat is generated during the dissipation of power.
Controllers implement effective load management by using low voltage discon-
nect (LVD). For the design of critical loads, warning lights are required for the
indication of the batterys state of charge. The sizing of a controller requires parity
with the systems voltage. This is in addition to the capability of the controller to
handle the flow of maximum PV current. Since the capacity and service life of
batteries are affected by ambient and operating temperatures, the choice of controllers
with temperature compensation features is very essential in the design of a system.
1.20 Cabling
Power losses in direct current (DC) systems are due to voltage drop. Care must be
taken when selecting the size of the cable to be used. If a small cable is used then
the voltage drop increases and in an off grid or stand-alone system this can have a
major impact on the system where the battery voltage is lower than expected.
Voltage drop can be calculated as follows:
V IR
where V is the volt drop in the cable, I the current in the cable and R the resistance
of the cable in ohms. Note that resistance depends on the length and cross sectional
area of the cable. Table 10 shows the electrical resistance of the cable .
Table 10 Electrical Conductor cross sectional area (mm2) Resistance (/m)

resistance of cable
2.5 0.0074
4 0.0046
6 0.0031
10 0.0018
16 0.0012
25 0.00073
35 0.00049
Example 1 Calculate the voltage drop in a 100-m cable that has a 10 mm2
cross-sectional area, carrying a current of 20A.
Solution:
Voltage drop 20 0:0018 100 3:6
1.21 Metering
PV systems connected to the national grid are called grid-connected systems. This
system provides benets to the owner to get credit for the electrical energy pro-
duced by the PV system. Normally two metres are used in the grid-connected
systems. One records the amount of energy produced by the PV system and the
other; the amount of energy supply by the grid. Note that in some installations, a
single metre is usedit goes backwards when local power is being generated, and
forwards when power is being consumed. When installing a grid connected system,
it is up to the local electricity authority as to which conguration of meters they
approve.
2 Trend in Solar Radiation Measurement and Modelling

Techniques
2.1 Introduction to Solar Radiation
Solar irradiation availability of arbitrary sloped surfaces is a prerequisite in many

sciences. For example, agricultural meteorology, photobiology, animal husbandry,
daylighting, comfort air-conditioning, building sciences and solar energy utilisa-
tion, all require insolation availability on slopes.
The past three decades have seen a boom in the construction of energy efcient
buildings which use solar architectural features to maximize the exploitation of
daylight, solar heat and solar-driven ventilation and solar PV electricity.
The initial research related to solar radiation carried out by Angstrom and others
was concerned with the relationship between irradiation and the sunshine duration.
Since then research in this eld has come a long way. Today, a considerable amount
of information is available on mathematical models that relate solar radiation to
other meteorological parameters such as temperature, cloud cover, rain amount,
humidity and even visibility.
2.2 Fundamentals of Solar Radiation
In this section algorithms are presented which enable calculation of the suns
position and the related geometry. The present set of algorithms includes low to
high accuracy models. The high precision algorithm for solar position calculation
was developed by Yallop (1992), a leading astronomer. Disparate practice has been
adopted by meteorological stations across the globe in measuring hourly solar
radiation. While in the UK the irradiation data is available against apparent solar
time (AST), many other countries use the local civil time (LCT) as the reference for
all records. Under the CIE IDMP the illuminance was recorded worldwide against
the LCT. It is therefore necessary that appropriate algorithms are available for the
conversion from one system to another. Basic concepts and denitions are intro-
duced herein, which are a prerequisite for obtaining suns position.
2.2.1 Day Number
In many solar energy applications one needs to calculate the day number
(DN) corresponding to a given date. DN is dened as the number of days elapsed in
a given year up to a particular date. Examples of this application are the estimation
of the equation of time (EOT) and the solar declination angle (DEC) using low
precision algorithms, and the extraterrestrial irradiance and illuminance at any given
time.
2.2.2 Julian Day Number and Day of the Week
In many astronomical calculations it is often necessary to count the number of days

elapsed since a predetermined reference date (fundamental epoch). By convention
this date has been xed as the Greenwich mean noon of 1 January 4713 BC. The
number of days elapsed from this epoch to any given date is called the Julian day
number (JDN). The calculation for JDN involves six steps and these are given in
(Duffett-Smith 1988). The estimation of the day of the week is easy once JDN is
known. This involves a three step algorithm which is also available in

Duffett-Smith. Modern control algorithms for energy efcient buildings, such as
optimum start algorithm, may nd the use for the day of the week routine to
differentiate between weekdays and weekends.
2.2.3 Equation of Time
The difference between the standard time and solar time is dened as the EOT. EOT
may be obtained as expressed by Woolf (1968):
EOT 0:1236sin x 0:0043cosx 0:1538sin2x 0:0608cos2x 1
where x 360DN 1=365:242, DN = 1 for 1 January in any given year. EOT

may also be obtained more precisely as presented by Lamm (1981) as:
X
5
EOT Ak cos2pKN=365:25 Bk sin2pkN=365:25 2
k0
where N is the day in the 4-year cycle starting after the leap year. Values of the Ak
and Bk coefcients are given in Table 11. In any non-leap year, EOT assumes the
value of near zero for 0 h UT for 15 April, 13 June, 1 September and 25 December.
2.2.4 Apparent Solar Time
Solar time is the time to be used in all solar geometry calculations. It is necessary to
apply the corrections due to the difference between the longitude of the given
locality (LONG) and the longitude of the standard time meridian (LSM). This
correction is needed in addition to the above-mentioned EOT. Thus:
AST standard timeLCT EOT LSM LONG=15 3
All terms in the above equation are to be expressed in hours. The algebraic sign
preceding the longitudinal correction terms contained in the square brackets should
Table 11 Coefcients for k Ak 103 (h) Bk 103 (h)

Eq. (2)
0 0.2087 0.00000
1 9.2869 122.29000
2 52.2580 156.98000
3 1.3077 5.16020
4 2.1867 2.98230
5 1.5100 0.23463
be inserted as positive for longitudes which lie east of LSM and vice versa.
The LSM and LONG themselves have no sign associated with them.
2.2.5 Solar Declination
The angle between the earthsun vector and the equatorial plane is called the DEC.
As an adopted convention DEC is considered to be positive when the earthsun
vector lies northwards of the equatorial plane. Declination may also be dened as
the angular position of the sun at noon (AST) with respect to the equatorial plane.
DEC may be obtained as expressed by Boes and reported in Kreider and Kreith
(1981):
DEC sin1 f0:39795cos0:98563DN 173g 4
Note that in the above equation, the cosine term is to be expressed in degrees. The
arc sine term will obviously be returned in radian.
2.2.6 Solar Geometry, SOLALT and SOLAZM
The suns position in the sky can be described in terms of two angles: SOLALT, the
elevation angle above the horizon and SOLAZM, the azimuth from north of the
suns beam projection on the horizontal plane (clockwise is positive). These
coordinates which describe the suns position are dependent on GHA, the latitude
(LAT) and longitude (LONG) of the location, and DEC. The solar geometry may
now be obtained from the following equations:
sin SOLALT sin LAT sin DEC cos LAT cos DEC cos GHA 5
cos DEC (cosLATtanDEC + sinLATcosGHA)

cos SOLAZM = 6
cosSOLALT
2.3 Relevance of Solar Resources Assessment in Solar PV

Plant Implementation
Solar resource is one of the most important inputs to PV power plant yield and
performance evaluations. In order to assure well-founded decisions in designing
protable solar power plants, the solar irradiance should be measures in the
assessment phase. Irradiation is a crucial parameter for site selection and plant
design and economics of plant. There are many different ways and technologies to
measure the irradiance phenomena that influences the power generation of a future
solar power plant (Ammonit 2013).
2.4 Different Solar Radiation Measurement Techniques
Routine measurement of diffuse solar energy from sky and the global (total) radi-
ation incident on a horizontal surface is usually undertaken by an agency such as
the national meteorological ofce. For this purpose the measurement network uses
pyranometers, solarimeters or actinograph. Figure 18 shows the picture of
pyranometer.
Direct or beam irradiation is measured by a pyrheliometer with a fast-response
multi-junction thermopile placed inside a narrow cavity tube. The aperture is
designed such that it admits a cone of full angle around 6. Most of the above
irradiance sensors used across Europe are manufactured by Kipp and Zonen, while
Eppley and Eko instruments are more widely used in the US and Japan, respec-
tively. Table 12 summarised the characteristics of Kipp and Zonens pyranometers.
The CM 22 is now regarded as the standard reference pyranometer due to its
accuracy, stability and quality of construction. The sensing element consists of a
thermal detector which responds to the total power absorbed without being selective
to the spectral distribution of radiation. The heat energy generated by the absorption
of radiation on the black disk flows through a thermal resistance to the heat sink.
The resultant temperature difference across the thermal resistance of the disk is
converted into a voltage which can be read by computer. The double glass con-
struction minimizes temperature fluctuations from the natural elements and reduces
thermal radiation losses to the atmosphere. The glass domes can collect debris over
Fig. 18 Pyranometers.
Source BADC (2014)
Table 12 Characteristics of Kipp and Zonens pyranometers
40
Pyranometers Spectral Sensitivity Response Directional Temperature Operational Maximum Field

range time error (up to response temperature solar of view
80 with range irradiance
1000 W/m2
beam)
SP Lite2 Ideal for measuring 4001100 nm 60100 V/W/m2 <500 ns <10 W/m2 < 0.15 %/C 40 to 2000 W/m2 180
available energy for use +80 C
in solar energy
applications, plant
growth, thermal
convection and
evapotranspiration.
CM 4 Radiometer specially 3002800 nm 410 V/W/m2 <8s < 20 W/m2 <3% 40 to 4000 W/m2 180
designed for measuring +150 C
solar or articial light
irradiance under the most
extreme temperature
conditions.
CMP 3 Low cost pyranometer 3002800 nm 520 V/W/m2 18 s < 20 W/m2 <5% 40 to 2000 W/m2 180
for accurate routine +80 C
measurements in many
applications.
SMP3 Perfect for monitoring 3002800 nm 1.512 s 20 W/m2 <3%
solar energy installations,
agriculture, horticulture,
hydrological and
industrial applications.
CMP 6 For good quality 2852800 nm 520 V/W/m2 18 s 20 W/m2 <4% 40 to 2000 W/m2 180
measurements for +80 C
green-house climate
control, eld testing and
PV installations
P. Mohanty et al.
(continued)
Table 12 (continued)
Pyranometers Spectral Sensitivity Response Directional Temperature Operational Maximum Field
range time error (up to response temperature solar of view
80 with range irradiance
1000 W/m2
beam)
CMP 10 Designed for 2852800 nm 714 V/W/m2 <5s 10 W/m2 <1% 40 to 4000 W/m2 180
meteorological networks +80 C
and solar energy
applications.
CMP 11 Reference measurements 2852800 nm 714 V/W/m2 <5s 10 W/m2 <1% 40 to 4000 W/m2 180
in extreme climates, +80 C
polar or arid. It is the
industry standard for
solar radiation
monitoring in PV and
thermal energy plants.
SMP 11 Ideal choice for high 2852800 nm < 0.7 s- < 10 W/m2 <1%
quality solar radiation <2s
monitoring in
Solar Radiation Fundamentals and PV System Components
meteorology and solar

energy.
CMP 21 Reference measurements 2852800 nm 714 V/W/m2 5s < 10 W/m2 <1% 40 to 4000 W/m2 180
in extreme climates, +80 C
polar or arid.
CMP 22 For Scientic research 2003600 nm 714 V/W/m2 5s < 5 W/m2 < 0.5 % 40 to 4000 W/m2 180
requiring the highest +80 C
level of measurement
accuracy and reliability.
Source Kipp & Zonen (2014)
41
time and weekly cleaning is recommended. Moisture is prevented due to the

presence of silica gel crystals in the body of the CM 11. The pyranometers have a
spectral response of between 335 and 2200 nm of the solar spectrum which includes
the visible wavelength band.
For most stations diffuse irradiance is measured by placing a shadow band over a
pyranometer, adjustment of which is required periodically. Coulson (1975) pro-
vides an excellent account of these adjustments and the associated measurement
errors for the above sensors, a brief summary of which is provided herein.
Radiation in the visible region of the spectrum is often evaluated with respect to
its visual sensation effect on the human eye. The CIE meeting in 1924 resulted in
the adoption of a standard of the above wavelength-dependent sensitivity. The CIE
standardized sensitivity of daylight adapted human eye is presented in Table 13.
2.4.1 Equipment Error and Uncertainty
With any measurement there exist errors, some of which are systematic and others
inherent of the equipment employed. Muneer has provided an account of the
measurement errors associated with solar irradiance. These are summarised herein
(Mohanty and Muneer 2004). The most common sources of error arise from the
sensors and their construction. These are broken down into the most general types
of error as follows:
a. cosine response
b. azimuth response
c. temperature response
d. spectral selectivity
Table 13 CIE standard spectral relative sensitivity of the daylight adapted

Wavelength Relative Wavelength Relative Wavelength Relative
(m) sensitivity (m) sensitivity (m) sensitivity
0.38 0.0000 0.51 0.5030 0.64 0.1750
0.39 0.0001 0.52 0.7100 0.65 0.1070
0.40 0.0004 0.53 0.8620 0.66 0.0610
0.41 0.0012 0.54 0.9540 0.67 0.0320
0.42 0.0040 0.55 0.9950 0.68 0.0170
0.43 0.0116 0.56 0.9950 0.69 0.0082
0.44 0.0230 0.57 0.9520 0.70 0.0041
0.45 0.0380 0.58 0.8700 0.71 0.0021
0.46 0.0600 0.59 0.7570 0.72 0.0010
0.47 0.0910 0.60 0.6310 0.73 0.0005
0.48 0.1390 0.61 0.5030 0.74 0.0003
0.49 0.2080 0.62 0.3810 0.75 0.0001
0.50 0.3230 0.63 0.2650 0.76 0.0001
e. stability
f. non-linearity
g. thermal instability
h. zero offset due to nocturnal radiative cooling.
To be classed as a secondary standard instrument pyranometers have to meet the
specications set out by World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). Of all the
aforementioned errors, the cosine effect is the most apparent and widely recognized.
This is the sensors response to the angle at which radiation strikes the sensing area.
The more acute the angle of the sun, i.e. at sunrise and sunset, the greater this error
(at altitude angles of sun below 6). Cosine error is typically dealt with through the
exclusion of the recorded data at sunrise and sunset times. The azimuth error is a
result of imperfections of the glass domes, and in the case of solarimeters the
angular reflection properties of the black paint. This is an inherent manufacturing
error which yields a similar percentage error as the cosine effect. Like the azimuth
error, the temperature response of the sensor is an individual fault for each cell. The
photometers are thermostatically controlled, and hence the percentage error due to
fluctuations in the sensors temperature is reduced. The pyranometers rely on the
two glass domes to prevent large temperature swings. Ventilation of the instrument
is an additional recommended option. The spectral selectivity is dependent on the
spectral absorptance of the black paint and the spectral transmission of the glass.
The overall effect contributes only a small percentage error to the measurements.
Each sensor possesses a high level of stability with the deterioration of the cells
resulting in approximately 1 % change in the full scale measurement per year.
Finally, the non-linearity of the sensors is a concern especially with photometers. It
is a function of irradiance levels. It however tends to contribute only a small
percentage error towards the measured values. Table 14 provides details of the
above-mentioned uncertainties. In addition to the above sources of
Table 14 WMO classication of pyranometers

Characteristic Secondary First Second
standard class class
Resolution (smallest detectable change in W/m2) 1 5 10
Stability (percentage of full scale, change/year) 1 2 5
Cosine response (percentage deviation < 3 < 7 < 15
from ideal at 10 solar elevation on a clear day)
Azimuth response (percentage deviation from ideal at < 3 < 5 < 10
10 solar elevation on a clear day)
Temperature response (percentage maximum error due 1 2 5
to change of
ambient temperature within the operating range)
Non-linearity (percentage of full scale) 0.5 2 5
Spectral sensitivity (percentage deviation from mean 2 5 10
absorptance 0.33 m)
Response time (99 % response) <25 s <1 min <4 min
equipment-related errors care must be taken to avoid operational errors such as

incorrect sensor levelling and orientation of the vertical sensors, as well as improper
screening of the vertical sensors from ground-reflected radiation.
2.4.2 Types of Sensors and Their Accuracies
A survey of radiation instruments undertaken by Lof et al. showed that of the 219
sensors in use across Europe, 65 were of the CM11 type pyranometers while 107
sensors were the simpler and less expensive Robitzch actinographs with a bimet-
talic temperature element (Lof et al. 1965). The latter instrument is also quite
popular in the developing Asian (89 such sensors were reported to be in use),
African (16 sensors) and South American (47 sensors) countries where maintenance
is often the key factor. The author has in the past visited a solar radiation mea-
surement station in the middle of the Sahara desert and seen the Robitzch actino-
graph faithfully recording a regular trace of irradiation. The weekly changeover of
the recording chart makes this instrument an ideal choice for remote locations.
Drummond estimates that accuracies of 23 % are attainable for daily summa-
tions of radiation for pyranometers of rst class classication (Drummond 1965).
Individual hourly summations even with carefully calibrated equipment may be in
excess of 5 %. Coulson infers that the errors associated with routine observations
may be well in excess of 10 %. Isolated cases of poorly maintained equipment but
those which are in the regular network may exhibit monthly averaged errors of
10 % or more. The Robitzch actinograph, even with all the modications to
improve its accuracy is suitable only for daily summations. At this interval it
provides an accuracy of around 10 %. However, not all designs of the latter sensor
can claim even this level of accuracy. These gures must be borne in mind when
evaluating the accuracy of the relevant computational models.
2.5 GIS Mapping of Solar Resource Potential
Developing solar radiation maps for a given region means creating illustrations
revealing the geographical distribution of solar radiation covering that specic
region. A solar radiation map demonstrates solar energy potentials of a specic
region and provides information which is useful for optimum site selection of a
solar energy system. A solar radiation map can be generated by using solar radi-
ation data obtained from measurement stations. However, such a method is not
applicable to many parts of the globe due to insufciency of measurement stations.
One solution is to use satellite-derived solar radiation data to create solar radiation
maps (Gastli and Charabi 2010).
A Geographical Information System (GIS) is a system that can handle and
process location and attribute data of spatial features (Kulkarni and Banerjee 2011).
GIS provides rapid, cost-efcient and accurate estimations of radiation over large
territories, considering surface inclination, aspect and shadowing effects (Hoerka
and Suri 2002). One of the rst GIS-based solar radiation models was Solar Flux,
developed for ARC/INFO GIS. Similar initiative was made by implementation of
solar radiation algorithms into commercially available GIS Genasys using AML
script.
More advanced methods for ecological and biological applications are used in
Solar Analyst, developed as an ArcView GIS extension module. In the pre-processing
phase, based on the DTM, the model generates an upward-looking hemispherical
view shed. The similar procedure for generating a sun map for every raster cell makes
calculation considerably faster. The model is suitable for detailed-scale studies. It is
not flexible enough for calculation of atmospheric transmissivity and diffuse pro-
portion as it allows to set parameters available only for the nearest weather stations or
just typical values. This makes its use for larger areas rather limited. The SRAD model
was designed to model a complex set of short-wave and long-wave interactions of
solar energy with Earth surface and atmosphere. Although based on a simplied
representation of the underlying physics, the main solar radiation factors are con-
sidered and the model is able to characterize the spatial variability of the landscape
processes. However, it is designed for modelling of topo- and mesoscale processes
and the calculation over large territories is also limited. A number of sources provide
solar radiation data. Some of these are:
Furthermore note that 5 provides the details of designing and modelling pro-
cedure. Four case studies are also included within 5.
3 Conclusion
The global photovoltaic market in 2013 witnessed a massive growth worldwide

with 38.4 GW of installation getting completed. During the period 20102014 the
Crystalline Silicon PV module price dropped from 1.81 USD/W peak.
A review was presented of the three dominant PV technologies, i.e. crystalline,
thin-lm and emerging technologies. It was shown that the market share of crys-
talline PV dropped from 95 % in 2005 to 72 % in 2012. Over a longer term, its
efciency increased from 14 % in the year 1976 to 24 % in 2010, as reported by the
US National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The present day efciencies of some of
the leading market contenders are: monocrystalline (1519 %), polycrystalline (13
15 %), amorphous silicon (58 %), cadmium telluride and CIGS (711 %) and
concentrating PV 2530 %.
Energy storage will become increasingly important with the development of
PV-based solutions and in this respect remarkable progress has taken place with
leadacid batteries providing storage capacities between 20 and 40 Wh/kg whereas
lithiumion technology introduced in 1991 is capable of providing 70200Wh/kg
capacity. Likewise the cost gures have also shown a dramatic improvement with a
reduction from 1000 to 300 (USD/kWh taking place between the years 200813.
The volumetric energy density also increased from 590 to 1500 Wh/litre during the
latter period.
Performance assessment of PV systems will require measurement of the solar
resource and as such this chapter provided algorithms for obtaining solar geometry
and also a detailed classication of pyranometers and their error and uncertainties.
Acknowledgments The authors of this chapter are grateful to Drs. Y. Tham and Y. Aldali for the
help that they extended during the preparation of the initial draft.
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Solar Radiation Fundamentals and PV

Parimita Mohanty, Tariq Muneer, Eulalia Jadraque Gago

Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 7

1 Trends in Solar PV Technologies

The High Scenario assumes the continuation, adjustment or introduction of

Solar cell technologies in general are classied as wafer-based crystalline silicon

Fig. 3 Global annual market scenarios until 2018

Fig. 5 Classication of solar

1.3 Market Share of Different PV Technologies

1.4 Trend in PV Technology Research

Fig. 6 Market share of the different PV technologies

improved cell concepts and automation of manufacturing. Current commercial

1.5 Materials, Cells and Modules

1.6 Physical Characteristics

1.6.1 Single Crystal or Monocrystalline Silicon Cell

1.6.2 Polycrystalline or Multicrystalline Silicon

Fig. 9 A polycrystalline silicon cell (Lund et al., 2008)

Semiconductors such as gallium arsenide (GaAs), aluminium gallium arsenide

1.8 Thin Film (Non-silicon)

1.9 Amorphous Thin Film

1.10 Emerging Solar PV Technology

Emerging Solar Photovoltaic technologies, such as organic PV cells and

The performance of a solar cell is measured in terms of its conversion efciency at

Fig. 11 NREL chart of record solar cell performance

A PV module or panel is a grouping of PV cells. The voltage generated by a single

Fig. 12 Connection of PV cells that form a module

Fig. 13 An example of a PV string (Mason et al. 2008)

Fig. 14 PV array connected in a series string (Mason et al. 2008)

1.15 Size and Shape

1.16 Structure Support and Fixing

Modules may be mounted on a pole, a ground support, a wall of a building, a

1.17 Comparative Analysis of Different PV Technologies

Table 4 compares the PV technologies and PV devices. The comparison includes

1.18 Trend in Batteries

a-Si cells dominate the small output

Technology Photovoltaic PV Module Area State of Advantages Drawbacks

Table 5 Historical overview of batteries

Table 6 Li-Ion battery characteristics, Serra (2012)

Table 7 Comparison of energy densities by battery types

Table 8 Cost breakdown of Li-ion battery ($/kWh)

1.19 Trend in Inverters

The inverter is an essential component of a PV system as it is responsible for the

1.19.1 Single Stage/Central Inverter

Fig. 15 An Emerson inverter

Fig. 16 Connections of solar PV strings

1.19.2 Double or Multi-stage Inverter

Here each string is connected to a double- or a single-stage inverter. If a large

1.19.3 Multi-string Multi-stage Inverters with High Frequency

Another topology adopted is multi-string; multi-stage inverter. The multi-string

1.19.4 Inverter Conversion Efciency

Figure 17 presents the performance of a range of inverters.

1.19.5 Charge Controllers

The charge controller is an essential component in any PV/battery system as it

Fig. 17 Power rating versus euro efciency of inverters

different operation mechanisms namely shunt controls, single-stage controls,

Table 10 Electrical Conductor cross sectional area (mm2) Resistance (/m)

Voltage drop 20 0:0018 100 3:6

2 Trend in Solar Radiation Measurement and Modelling

2.1 Introduction to Solar Radiation

AST standard timeLCT EOT LSM LONG=15 3

DEC sin1 f0:39795cos0:98563DN 173g 4