Performance and techno-economic analysis of monocrystalline, multicrystalline and amorphous silicon-based stand-alone photovoltaic power system in Malaysian field conditions / Mohd Nizan Kassim

This research involves the use of renewable energy technology, VIs-a-VIS solar
photovoltaic (PV) techno~ogy for providing power. It involves the design, installation,
testing, commissioning, monitoring, performance analysis and economic evaluation of
three different sets of stand-alone solar PV-battery power PVP systems in Malaysian
field conditions, specifically in the Shah Alam area. There were three complete sets of
PVP systems using three. different types of modules with their own sets Balance of
System (BOS) components. The PV modules used were amorphous silicon (a-Si),
monocrystalline silicon (mono-Si) and multicrystalline silicon (multi-Si) technologies,
each coupled to a bank of lead acid solar application batteries to meet the designed daily
load demands. The monitoring of the PVP systems, along with the relevant environment
parameters were done using an automated monitoring system. Details of each systems
set-up are presented in this study. Based on the field data, a comparative study between
the three PVP systems in terms oftheir techno-economic performance indices were then
done. It was found that the a-Si modules gave the highest normalized annual yield at
901kWhkWp-l, followed by the mono-Si at 760kWhkWp-l and then the multi-Si at
730kWhkWp-l. The a-Si modules also gave the highest PR value at 56%, followed by
the mono-Si at 47% and then the multi-Si at 46%. However in term of array efficiency
the highest was the mono-Si at 8.8%, followed by the multi-Si at 7.4% and lastly the aSi
at 3.4%. The a-Si modules had the lowest voltage drop of -31.8mVoC-I
, the highest
current rise of 4.9mA°C-1 and the lowest power drop at -0.11 WoC-1
, followed by the
mono-Si at -32.8mVoC-1
, 4. 19mAoC-1 and -0.7WOC-1
, lastlythemulti-Si at -39.4mVoC-t,
3.2mA°C-1 and -0. 17WoC-1 respectively. In addition, the NOCT values were: a-Si
module at 38°C, multi-Si at 57°C and mono-Si at 43°C and these field values differ from
the manufacturer specification by 17%, 9% and 0% respectively. Thus it was proven
that the a-Si modules worked best in an equatorial climate country. The costs of PV
technology and energy generations from the Systems I, II and III were RM 11.7 per
kWh, RM 6.4 per kWh and RM 6.2 per kWh respectively which are still high compared
to that from the grid. Several recommendations for further study have also been
included at the end of this thesis.