Introduction to solar energy/Solar resources and availability quizbank 1
Question 2: Photovoltaic conversion and energy production.
The solar energy received on earth corresponds to a power of about 1 kW/m². Due to cloud coverage, pollution and the orbit of the earth around its own axis and the sun, the received power fluctuates throughout the day and throughout the year. Various standard quantities are provided by meteorological sites such as the number of hours of sunshine of a site which corresponds to the number of hours when the place considered receives light power exceeding approximately 400 W/m². For example in the French city of Rouen, there are approximately 1750 hours of full sunshine per year.
For each location, the number of hours of equivalent full sun is also normally given, where an hour of equivalent full sun represents one hour of 1 kW/m². For example if a day contained two hours of 500 W/m², then that would also represent one hour of equivalent full sun.
Givens:
- In the French city of Annemasse, the number of equivalent hours per day is 3.8 hours on a surface facing South and inclined at an angle equal to the latitude.
- In the industry, a photovoltaic panel is characterized by its peak power which corresponds to the electrical power that the panel would provide under a sunshine of 1000 W/m².
- The cost of electricity is 0.10e/kWh
- Tax credits for solar energy production are no longer granted by the state.
- The average cost of a photovoltaic installation for 2013 is given by the table below:
| Power | Simplified Building Integration (SBI) | Building Integration (BAI) |
|---|---|---|
| < 3 kWc | 2.9 to 3.6 e before Taxes/Wp | 3 to 3.8 e before Taxes/Wp |
| 3 to 36 kWp | 2.7 to 3.3 e before Taxes/Wp | 2.8 to 3.4 e before Taxes/Wp |
| 36 to 100 kWp | 2.3 to 3 e before Taxes/Wp | 2.4 to 3 e before Taxes/Wp |
The question below aims to study the energy produced and the time of return on investment of a photovoltaic installation located in Annemasse, which has an average of 3.8 hours of equivalent per day throughout the year. The solar panels of interest are 150 Wp and each panel is 1 square meter.
Questions:
- For full sun conditions, determine the power supplied by 1 m² of panel.
- Calculate the daily energy yield of one panel.
- Calculate the panel area necessary to obtain 3 kWp.
- Calculate the annual light energy received in Annemasse for a surface of 20 m².
- Estimate the electrical production over the year of a 3 kWp installation.
- Calculate the capital cost of the installation.
- Calculate the amount of money paid by the utility company per year.
- Calculate the time after which the installation is considered profitable.
- Calculate the financial gain over 20 years.
Exercise 1:
In 2021 the annual electric consumption of mainland France was equal to 468 TWh. Assuming a panel efficiency of 20%, how much surface area would be required to cover these needs? For the solar availability calculations, find a solar cadastre and consider both solar extremes of the country (high and low solar availability). Knowing that the area of mainland France is approximately 552,000 km², what is the corresponding percent coverage of total land? And assuming that the percentage of built-up land was 9.3% in 2015, how much of the artificially covered land would need to be utilized?