Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant Development for a Desert Climate

Abstract

The present work develops design guidelines for a photovoltaic power plant to shave peak electricity demand in an arid climate, which cover approximately 1/3rd of earth land mass and a good portion of this climate is in the Middle East and North Africa. In a typical desert climate, such as the Arabian Peninsula a large portion of the electricity consumed is due to the use of air conditioning units during hot sunny days. In the present work the energy consumption pattern of a typical building in an arid area is studied. Additionally, overall regional grid power demand in Tabuk located in Northwest of Saudi Arabia is studied. Guidelines for development of solar plants (i.e., panel ordinations) are presented to shave off the peak demand. It is determined that for most desert climates the peak electricity demand is between 2:00–5:00PM during summers.