Evaluation of Grid-Connected PV Electricity Generation Systems using Experimental Approaches

Abstract

In this article, experimental measurements were conducted for a whole year to evaluate a 1.4 kW grid-connected PV power plant installed at Sohar University, Oman.The environmental data and system data were collected and the system parameters such as: yield factor, Capacity Factor, Cost of Energy, Payback Period were evaluated. Experimental results showed that the highest power generated for an array is 245.8 kWh, and the highest reference power ranged from 3.43 to 5.65 kWh, while the final yield ranged from 4.61 to 7.33 kWh/kWp-day. Also, it found that the capacity factor (CF), cost of energy (CoE), and payback period (PBP) were 21.7%, $ 0.045/kWh, and 11.17 years respectively.