Development of an irradiance sensor network to model photovoltaic plant-average irradiance time series

Abstract

With exponential growth in in the U.S. utility photovoltaic market, high resolution solar irradiance data and appropriate spatial-temporal models are required to determine the true impact of solar power variability on the grid. This paper describes a new and economical Data Acquisition System (DAS) to collect high resolution solar power data required for high penetration PV integration studies and suggest model to simulate the plant-average irradiance time series given a single irradiance point sensor.

Simplified distribution grid model for power quality studies in the presence of photovoltaic generators

“…4 PV system model a Proposed model for grid-connected PV systems [4] b PV inverter circuit topology [4] c Sample solar irradiance profile acquired during the measurement panel experiences a decrease in output power with certain delay depending on the cloud direction and speed [56]. In such a case, more than one pyranometers can be used along with an interpolation method to obtain a solar irradiance profile that will match, with less error, the variations in PV system output [63]. In this contribution, the aggregated effect of shading during cloudy weather is modelled by varying the irradiance input to a single PV array component (it is assumed that the PV array is not subjected to shading from nearby objects).…”