IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v11y2018i6p1579-d152816.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of Component Reliability on Large Scale Photovoltaic Systems’ Performance

Author

Listed:
  • Stefan Baschel

    (Vattenfall Innovation GmbH, Chausseestrasse 23, 10115 Berlin, Germany)

  • Elena Koubli

    (Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology, School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, UK)

  • Jyotirmoy Roy

    (juwi Renewable Energies Limited, Energie-Allee 1, 55286 Wörrstadt, Germany)

  • Ralph Gottschalg

    (Fraunhofer-Centre for Silicon-Photovoltaic CSP, Walter-Hülse-Strasse 1, 06120 Halle, Germany)

Abstract

In this work, the impact of component reliability on large scale photovoltaic (PV) systems’ performance is demonstrated. The analysis is largely based on an extensive field-derived dataset of failure rates of operation ranging from three to five years, derived from different large-scale PV systems. Major system components, such as transformers, are also included, which are shown to have a significant impact on the overall energy lost due to failures. A Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) is used to estimate the impact on reliability and availability for two inverter configurations. A Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is employed to rank failures in different subsystems with regards to occurrence and severity. Estimation of energy losses (EL) is realised based on actual failure probabilities. It is found that the key contributions to reduced energy yield are the extended repair periods of the transformer and the inverter. The very small number of transformer issues (less than 1%) causes disproportionate EL due to the long lead times for a replacement device. Transformer and inverter issues account for about 2/3 of total EL in large scale PV systems (LSPVSs). An optimised monitoring strategy is proposed in order to reduce repair times for the transformer and its contribution to EL.

Suggested Citation

  • Stefan Baschel & Elena Koubli & Jyotirmoy Roy & Ralph Gottschalg, 2018. "Impact of Component Reliability on Large Scale Photovoltaic Systems’ Performance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-16, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:11:y:2018:i:6:p:1579-:d:152816
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/6/1579/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/6/1579/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhang, Peng & Li, Wenyuan & Li, Sherwin & Wang, Yang & Xiao, Weidong, 2013. "Reliability assessment of photovoltaic power systems: Review of current status and future perspectives," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 822-833.
    2. Zini, Gabriele & Mangeant, Christophe & Merten, Jens, 2011. "Reliability of large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 2334-2340.
    3. Hamdy, M.A. & Beshir, M.E. & Elmasry, S.E., 1989. "Reliability analysis of photovoltaic systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 253-263.
    4. Isidoro Lillo-Bravo & Pablo González-Martínez & Miguel Larrañeta & José Guasumba-Codena, 2018. "Impact of Energy Losses Due to Failures on Photovoltaic Plant Energy Balance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-23, February.
    5. Ferdinando Chiacchio & Fabio Famoso & Diego D’Urso & Sebastian Brusca & Jose Ignacio Aizpurua & Luca Cedola, 2018. "Dynamic Performance Evaluation of Photovoltaic Power Plant by Stochastic Hybrid Fault Tree Automaton Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-22, January.
    6. Colli, Alessandra, 2015. "Failure mode and effect analysis for photovoltaic systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 804-809.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wilfried van Sark, 2019. "Photovoltaic System Design and Performance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-6, May.
    2. Sayed, A. & EL-Shimy, M. & El-Metwally, M. & Elshahed, M., 2020. "Impact of subsystems on the overall system availability for the large scale grid-connected photovoltaic systems," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    3. Pramod R. Sonawane & Sheetal Bhandari & Rajkumar Bhimgonda Patil & Sameer Al-Dahidi, 2023. "Reliability and Criticality Analysis of a Large-Scale Solar Photovoltaic System Using Fault Tree Analysis Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-24, March.
    4. A. Sayed & M. El-Shimy & M. El-Metwally & M. Elshahed, 2019. "Reliability, Availability and Maintainability Analysis for Grid-Connected Solar Photovoltaic Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-18, March.
    5. Bojan Kranjec & Sasa Sladic & Wojciech Giernacki & Neven Bulic, 2018. "PV System Design and Flight Efficiency Considerations for Fixed-Wing Radio-Controlled Aircraft—A Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-12, October.
    6. Aisha Sa’ad & Aimé C. Nyoungue & Zied Hajej, 2021. "Improved Preventive Maintenance Scheduling for a Photovoltaic Plant under Environmental Constraints," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-22, September.
    7. Abdulla, Hind & Sleptchenko, Andrei & Nayfeh, Ammar, 2024. "Photovoltaic systems operation and maintenance: A review and future directions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. A. Sayed & M. El-Shimy & M. El-Metwally & M. Elshahed, 2019. "Reliability, Availability and Maintainability Analysis for Grid-Connected Solar Photovoltaic Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-18, March.
    2. Sayed, A. & EL-Shimy, M. & El-Metwally, M. & Elshahed, M., 2020. "Impact of subsystems on the overall system availability for the large scale grid-connected photovoltaic systems," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    3. Chiacchio, Ferdinando & D’Urso, Diego & Famoso, Fabio & Brusca, Sebastian & Aizpurua, Jose Ignacio & Catterson, Victoria M., 2018. "On the use of dynamic reliability for an accurate modelling of renewable power plants," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 605-621.
    4. Ferdinando Chiacchio & Fabio Famoso & Diego D’Urso & Sebastian Brusca & Jose Ignacio Aizpurua & Luca Cedola, 2018. "Dynamic Performance Evaluation of Photovoltaic Power Plant by Stochastic Hybrid Fault Tree Automaton Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-22, January.
    5. Gallardo-Saavedra, Sara & Hernández-Callejo, Luis & Duque-Pérez, Oscar, 2019. "Quantitative failure rates and modes analysis in photovoltaic plants," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 825-836.
    6. Peters, Lennart & Madlener, Reinhard, 2017. "Economic evaluation of maintenance strategies for ground-mounted solar photovoltaic plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 264-280.
    7. Pramod R. Sonawane & Sheetal Bhandari & Rajkumar Bhimgonda Patil & Sameer Al-Dahidi, 2023. "Reliability and Criticality Analysis of a Large-Scale Solar Photovoltaic System Using Fault Tree Analysis Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-24, March.
    8. Cai, Baoping & Liu, Yonghong & Ma, Yunpeng & Huang, Lei & Liu, Zengkai, 2015. "A framework for the reliability evaluation of grid-connected photovoltaic systems in the presence of intermittent faults," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(P2), pages 1308-1320.
    9. Zhang, Peng & Li, Wenyuan & Li, Sherwin & Wang, Yang & Xiao, Weidong, 2013. "Reliability assessment of photovoltaic power systems: Review of current status and future perspectives," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 822-833.
    10. Masoud Ahmadipour & Hashim Hizam & Mohammad Lutfi Othman & Mohd Amran Mohd Radzi & Nikta Chireh, 2019. "A Fast Fault Identification in a Grid-Connected Photovoltaic System Using Wavelet Multi-Resolution Singular Spectrum Entropy and Support Vector Machine," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-18, June.
    11. Mosadeghy, Mehdi & Yan, Ruifeng & Saha, Tapan Kumar, 2016. "Impact of PV penetration level on the capacity value of South Australian wind farms," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 1135-1142.
    12. Isidoro Lillo-Bravo & Pablo González-Martínez & Miguel Larrañeta & José Guasumba-Codena, 2018. "Impact of Energy Losses Due to Failures on Photovoltaic Plant Energy Balance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-23, February.
    13. Terracciano, Anthony Carmine & Vasu, Subith S. & Orlovskaya, Nina, 2016. "Design and development of a porous heterogeneous combustor for efficient heat production by combustion of liquid and gaseous fuels," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 228-236.
    14. Hung, Duong Quoc & Mithulananthan, N. & Bansal, R.C., 2014. "An optimal investment planning framework for multiple distributed generation units in industrial distribution systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 62-72.
    15. Vorachack Kongphet & Anne Migan-Dubois & Claude Delpha & Jean-Yves Lechenadec & Demba Diallo, 2022. "Low-Cost I–V Tracer for PV Fault Diagnosis Using Single-Diode Model Parameters and I–V Curve Characteristics," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-31, July.
    16. Marian Liberos & Raúl González-Medina & Gabriel Garcerá & Emilio Figueres, 2019. "A Method to Enhance the Global Efficiency of High-Power Photovoltaic Inverters Connected in Parallel," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-19, June.
    17. Yue, Hui & Worrell, Ernst & Crijns-Graus, Wina, 2021. "Impacts of regional industrial electricity savings on the development of future coal capacity per electricity grid and related air pollution emissions – A case study for China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(PB).
    18. Zini, Gabriele & Mangeant, Christophe & Merten, Jens, 2011. "Reliability of large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 2334-2340.
    19. Zhou, P. & Jin, R.Y. & Fan, L.W., 2016. "Reliability and economic evaluation of power system with renewables: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 537-547.
    20. Nguyen, Hai Tra & Safder, Usman & Nhu Nguyen, X.Q. & Yoo, ChangKyoo, 2020. "Multi-objective decision-making and optimal sizing of a hybrid renewable energy system to meet the dynamic energy demands of a wastewater treatment plant," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:11:y:2018:i:6:p:1579-:d:152816. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.