Optimal Sizing of Output Energy of PV Power Plants under Extreme Climate Conditions: Case of Sudanian Sahel
Boubacar SORO *
Laboratory of Thermal and Renewable Energies, Department of Physics, Unit of Training and Research in Pure and applied Sciences, Universit ´e Joseph KI-ZERBO, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and Institut des Sciences et Technologies, Ecole Normale Superieure, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Amadou DIALLO
Laboratory of Thermal and Renewable Energies, Department of Physics, Unit of Training and Research in Pure and applied Sciences, Universit ´e Joseph KI-ZERBO, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Serge Dimitri Y. B. BAZYOMO
Laboratory of Thermal and Renewable Energies, Department of Physics, Unit of Training and Research in Pure and applied Sciences, Universit ´e Joseph KI-ZERBO, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and Universit ´e de Dedougou, Dedougou, Burkina Faso.
Adama OUEDRAOGO
Laboratory of Thermal and Renewable Energies, Department of Physics, Unit of Training and Research in Pure and applied Sciences, Universit ´e Joseph KI-ZERBO, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and Centre Universitaire Polytechnique de Kaya (CUP-Kaya), PO Box 232 Kaya, Burkina Faso.
Seyni SALACK
West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Dieudonn´e Joseph BATHIEBO
Laboratory of Thermal and Renewable Energies, Department of Physics, Unit of Training and Research in Pure and applied Sciences, Universit ´e Joseph KI-ZERBO, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Si´e KAM
Laboratory of Thermal and Renewable Energies, Department of Physics, Unit of Training and Research in Pure and applied Sciences, Universit ´e Joseph KI-ZERBO, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The present work analyzes the energy production of three 50kWp photovoltaic (PV) power plants which are placed in three climate zones. The Sudano-Sahelian and Sudanian climates have lower average temperatures than the Sahelian environment. The Sudanian climate, next the Sudano-Sahelian zone, and finally the Sahelian region, have the best performance for PV power plants. The performance of silicon PV cells may suffer due to temperature. The Sahelian climatic zone experiences its highest levels of PV output between April and October due to longer sunshine hours and a reduction in sand dust. In the Sudano-Sahelian region, PV output is at its peak between May and October. The best PV generation in the Sudanian environment occurs between June and November. The theoretical forecasting for the various climate zones is consistent with the PV mini-grid real energy output in various situations. The humidity, cloud cover, and rainfall in all climatic zones will make August the worst month for PV energy generation. Due to the type of load compared to the Sudanian climate where the PV power plant is situated in a university, the usage of batteries is crucial in the Sudano-Sahelian climate.
Keywords: PV power plant, silicon pv module, electricity grid, sahelian climate