Design and Analysis of Commercial Photovoltaic Systems

Lee, Joo Shen (2014) Design and Analysis of Commercial Photovoltaic Systems. Internship Report, Murdoch University.

Abstract

Renewable energy industry has been booming since 8 years ago and has been growing exponentially since 2010 since the production costs of PV systems have greatly reduced due to technological advancements. Balance Utility Solutions (BUS) was established in 2011 to cope with the growing market for embedded generation. BUS has completed multiple energy generation projects over Australia and Asia over 2013.

BUS is a member of the Balance Services Group, alongside with our client Barclay Engineering (BE), the client for the 9.04kWp grid-connected PV install.

The initial aim of the project was to acquire the related system approvals, design and procurement and implement the system before the end of the contract. This would serve not only as a investment to our client, but also a facility to train BUS personnel for rack assembly and also serve as a test facility for future developments. Along the way 2 minor projects were also undertaken and included as minor projects.

It was later discovered that alongside the 4kW of PV modules that BE had also bought battery banks, a standalone inverter its associated balance of system which could then be implemented and designed to operate like dedicated UPS systems that are available on the market. Fundamental operational specification also documented as part of the future plans for the project.

Minor project 1 was an involvement in other document preparation including a tender document for a 150kWp PV system for a wastewater plant. This involved planning and documenting the project delivery; acquiring quotes for components and understanding and complying with the scope that is required by the client. PV systems above 100kW are uncommon in WA, and require protection relays to be integrated and approved by Western Power.

Minor project 2 was the small test of the Sun Power PV modules and their degradation when modules are operational for two years and stored for an additional year. Results were then used to locate the module that has suffered the most degradation and omit it from the design. Results are discussed in section 12.

Item Type:	Internship Report (Bachelor of Engineering)
Murdoch Affiliation(s):	School of Engineering and Information Technology
Notes:	ENG450
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/21803

Item Control Page

Downloads