SIMULATION OF SYSTEM’S PERFOMANCE AND ENERGY BALANCE BETWEEN PV GENERATION AND LOAD, WITH DIFFERENT GCPVS CONFIGURATIONS,

AT THE TECHNOLOGICAL CENTER OF ELETRONORTE, BELÉM

Abstract

The organizations that constitute the Brazilian electric sector are aware to the necessity of the national electricity matrix diversification and, to achieve this, they recognize the renewable energy sources as potential solutions to reduce the Brazilian dependence on the hydric source and to mitigate environmental impacts. The possibility of connecting distributed generation (DG) systems, with 1 MWp of peak installed capacity, to the distribution networks, created by Resolution n. 482, motivated Eletrobras Eletronorte to use the building where its Technological Center is installed as a real laboratory for the study of DG photovoltaic (PV) systems, and also converting the Center on an energetic self-sustainable building. The proposal of the present work emerges from this interest, which is the search for alternative solutions of PV projects, contemplating different possibilities of building integration, distinct system’s configurations and performance analysis based on measured data of solar resource and load. Based on all the simulations accomplished, the idea is to develop a project that can be executed with particular characteristics, not only as a typical DG installation, which already motivated several studies in Brazil, but acting as a laboratory that has at one single place multiple possibilities to develop studies in the PV area, fully monitored and also contributing to the technical qualification of the company’s human resources in the area. The simulations presented in this paper indicate that a PV system that optimizes the area occupation, at the own building and surrounded areas, is able to supply approximately 77 % of the average annual consumption of the Technological Center, with performance analysis made with the support of measured data and calculations that consider the impacts of the installation type, PV cell temperature and inverter efficiency, among others.