Optimal Photovoltaic Plant Design for Investment in Microgrids through Data Analysis

Abstract

This work deals with the problem of the optimal design of a photovoltaic power generation plant from a technical as well as an economic point of view. This means that the design takes into account an efficient use of the generation resource and an analysis of the demand to achieve a specific goal of electric generation as well as a study of the amortization time and other economic indicators of the project. The photovoltaic system is sized to be used within an on-grid microgrid. The aim is to improve the quality of the results obtained by other sizing methods by making a more exhaustive analysis of the available data, in other words, the work aims to discover the value associated with the aforementioned analysis, a better quality of data and the use of mathematical models. Demand data provided by the campus of the National University of Río Cuarto are used for its studies, as well as solar irradiation measurement data supplied by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Córdoba. The studies detail the study of the demand, the solar resource in the town of Río Cuarto, the technical analysis using mathematical models of photovoltaic panels and the economic analysis. Preliminary results suggest that the method proposed by the paper allows for more efficient sizing, better utilization and better performance forecasting. On the other hand, economic feasibility is subject to the correct application of subsidies and credits to be able to cope with the initial investment.