Photovoltaic system application performance in extreme environments like desert conditions

• Main Authors: Yong-Ho Yoon, Jae-Moon Kim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2016-01-01
• Series: Journal of International Council on Electrical Engineering
• Subjects: Photovoltaic system; PV inverter; desert conditions
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/22348972.2016.1243611

The increased penetration of PV is impacting on grid operation and in particular the voltage within the local grid can be significantly influenced by the various PV systems. Especially extreme climate conditions like those found in desert-like regions make for high demands on solar technologies. Outdoor installed inverters are subjected to extreme temperature fluctuations and problematic sand and dust in the air. The stress imposed by sandstorms can be especially severe, as the very fine dust can penetrate even the smallest openings, potentially causing problems within the interior of the inverter, the key component in any PV system. This fine sand and dust settling on an inverter’s sensitive electronics represents an enormous potential risk to the operation and longevity of the entire PV plant. To analysis and reduce these problems, through its field-proven experience, some alliances have developed photovoltaic system application technology capable of withstanding challenging environments. This application engineering to optimize plant production was installed, operated and monitored under the desert climate conditions. Finally photovoltaic system application performance in desert like locations addressed through rigorous testing.