Performance and Economic Assessment of a Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Power Plant with a Storage System: A Comparison between the North and the South of Italy

Abstract

Grid-connected low voltage photovoltaic power plants cover most of the power capacity installed in Italy. They offer an important contribution to the power demand of the utilities connected but, due to the nature of the solar resource, the night-time consumption can be satisfied only withdrawing the energy by the national grid, at the price of the energy distributor. Thanks to the improvement of storage technologies, the installation of a system of battery looks like a promising solution by giving the possibility to increase auto-consumption dramatically. In this paper, a model-based approach to analyze and discuss the performance and the economic feasibility of grid-connected domestic photovoltaic power plants with a storage system is presented. Using as input to the model the historical series (2008–2017) of the main ambient variables, the proposed model, based on Stochastic Hybrid Fault Tree Automaton, allowed us to simulate and compare two alternative technical solutions characterized by different environmental conditions, in the north and in the south of Italy. The performances of these systems were compared and an economic analysis, addressing the convenience of the storage systems was carried out, considering the characteristic useful-life time, 20 years, of a photovoltaic power plant. To this end the Net Present Value and the payback time were evaluated, considering the main characteristics of the Italian market scenario.

Identification and Analysis of Impact Factors on the Economic Feasibility of Photovoltaic Energy Investments

“…Chiacchio et al [41] analyze a domestic PV plant connected to the grid, evaluated in different geographical locations. In their study, they assess how different environmental conditions can affect not only the energy production and self-consumption regimes, but also the aging of the system components, especially in the storage system.…”

“…Chiacchio et al [41] argue that the main efficiency degradation process depends on meteorological factors, such as wind speed, passing clouds in PV units, incident irradiance, and ambient temperature. Higher daily energy production of PV plants, due to the increase in efficiency, causes a greater return on investment [23].…”

“…The NPV calculation considers all costs and revenues incurred during the life of the project and the value of the investment cost, all discounted at the zero date. Chiacchio et al [41] state that the useful life of equipment varies depending on the environment and how they are operated. For Talavera et al [50], an increase in the life of a PV system can mean important improvements in the cost competitiveness of the PV system, because it produces energy for a longer time.…”

“…Summary of identified impact factors. ,17,20,24,27,32,36,40,41,43,46,49,51,57,[59][60][61][62]69,75,76,78,80,83,85,86,88,89,92,93,95,97,98,108,111,115,117,121,124,130,137,148,150,153,155,161,167,184,186,193,200,204,207,…”

Performance Improvement of a Grid-Connected Inverter under Distorted Grid Voltage Using a Harmonic Extractor

“…Based on the widespread adoption of renewable power systems, various energy storage systems (ESSs) using batteries have been installed to maintain a balance between power generation and load conditions [2]. Grid-connected inverters for ESSs must have bi-directional power control functionality to charge or discharge battery systems according to power demands and reduce harmonic components for battery life cycles.…”