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Solar energy yield of optimized solar system in Alberta and BC, Canada with a P95 exceedance probability.
The maps represent the annual energy yield in kWh per kWp of a PV solar system installed on various mounting option: 2-axis (full) Tracker, Vertical Axis Tracker (VAT), and Fixed racking. Continue reading Solar Energy Map of Alberta & BC, Canada
U.S. solar industry employed 142,698 Americans as of November 2013. Solar employment grew 10 times faster than the national average employment rate of 1.9 percent in the last year.
The Levelized Cost Of Energy (LCOE) is a standard methodology used by utilities, policy-maker, and industry to calculate the cost of electricity produced by a generator over its lifetime. It is the ratio of the initial capital cost plus the present value of all future operational costs (administration, maintenance and fuel) to the present value of all the energy produced during the anticipated lifetime of the project.
For a solar project, the fuel (the sun) is free and without administration costs, the LCOE formula is:
where:
LCOE is in $/MWh
CapInit = Initial Capital Cost = cost per watt * 106
Mi = Maintenance cost at year i taking into account inflation (cpi) and calculated at mid-year. Mi = mY1 * (1+cpi) (i-0.5)
mY1= Maintenance costs $/MW in the first year
cpi = Consumer Price Index
Ei = Energy produced at year I taking into account annual PV modules derating = enY1 *( 1 – (lid + (dr25 – lid)/lt*(i – 1)))
cpw = Cost per Watt ($/Wp)
enY1 = Energy produced the first year
lid = PV first light induced degradation
dr25= PV total derating after 25 years
lt = project lifetime
PV = present value : PV(x) = x * (1+bnkr) –(i-0.5) calculated at mid-year
bnkr = Discount ( or sometimes called bank) rate
The Return on investment (ROI) is a simple, basic financial benchmark: (Total gain from investment – Total cost of investment) / Total cost of Investment.
In the case of a solar plant, the formula is the following:
where:
The Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) is widely used to define the cost of electricity generation (in $/ MWh) over the life of the solar power plant (typically 25 years)
The LCOE is calculated by dividing the present value of the capital costs + all operating costs over the lifetime of the solar plant by the present value of the electricity generated.
Run the LCOE & ROI Calculator
The simulation needs the CDF Player Plug-in installed.
The solar energy map is calculated on data from 235 weather stations across Canada, provided by Environment Canada.
The chart ranks these stations by energy level. It shows the annual energy yield in kWh/a of a 1 kWp system installed on a full-tracker. The units are in kWh/kWp/a or hr/a. (Note: the chart is very large you will need to zoom to view it)
The highest ‘hot-spot’ is Pincher Creek in West-Alberta with 2,528 hr/a, the lowest ‘cool-spot’ is Prince Rupert on the BC west coast, with 1,290 hr/a.
Some solar trackers, in particular the vertical axis and 2-axis, rotate East/West and as a result may shade each other laterally in addition to North South.
Shading can be reduced by spacing the trackers further apart, but this increases the total solar plant area and capital costs (land, cabling, etc,.)
Configuring the layout of a solar farm with trackers to minimize the shading losses and total area is a complex task, often done by trial and error.
EcoSmart uses computer programs developed in-house to optimize shading losses and site area.
EcoSmart has developed a computer program to minimize shading losses and site area. Our program creates numeric data, but we have also developed a graphical interactive simulation to check the results and have made this available to the public.
Run this interactive simulation to visualize shading in a field of trackers.
The simulation needs the CDF Player Plug-in installed.
PV modules receive more energy if they directly face the sun. Continue reading Tracking the sun