Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

# Evaluating the Impacts of Ground and Atmospheric Conditions on the Efficiency of Solar Energy System and Its Economic Analysis

Version 1 : Received: 20 June 2018 / Approved: 20 June 2018 / Online: 20 June 2018 (14:22:44 CEST)

How to cite: Aziz, A.S.; Naim Tajuddin, M.F.; Padmanaban, S.; Mihet-Popa, L.; Adzman, M.R.; A. M. Ramli, M. Evaluating the Impacts of Ground and Atmospheric Conditions on the Efficiency of Solar Energy System and Its Economic Analysis. Preprints 2018, 2018060324 (doi: 10.20944/preprints201806.0324.v1). Aziz, A.S.; Naim Tajuddin, M.F.; Padmanaban, S.; Mihet-Popa, L.; Adzman, M.R.; A. M. Ramli, M. Evaluating the Impacts of Ground and Atmospheric Conditions on the Efficiency of Solar Energy System and Its Economic Analysis. Preprints 2018, 2018060324 (doi: 10.20944/preprints201806.0324.v1).

## Abstract

The There are many factors influencing the performance of photovoltaic (PV) systems. Among these factors, temperature and solar radiation are two major parameters that have a large effect on the efficiency of PV systems. The cell temperature of PV panels is related to the ambient temperature while the solar radiation incident on the surface of the PV modules depends on the slope and azimuth of these modules. Furthermore, ground reflectance (albedo) affects the irradiance incident on the PV panel surface, which in turn affects the output of a PV system. Nevertheless, the effects of these factors on the economic performance of the solar PV systems are scarcely reported. This paper presents a complete design of a stand-alone PV/battery system to supply electric power for a mobile base station in Choman, Erbil, Iraq. The effects of different factors on the total electricity produced by PV arrays and its economic performance are simultaneously investigated. HOMER software has been used as a tool for the techno-economic and environmental analysis. As indicated from the simulation results, the PV array capacity and its economic performance are highly affected by the variation of the slope and azimuth. With a base case (albedo of 20% and average annual ambient temperature of 11°C), the best feasible system which is achieved by facing PV due to south with a tilt angle of 40° or 45°, is found to have net present cost (NPC) of 70595 $and cost of energy (COE) of 0.54$/kWh. Moreover, the results indicate that increasing the ground reflectance from 10% to 90% results in a 7.2% decrease in the PV array capacity and about 3% decrease in the NPC and COE. On the other hand, increasing the ambient temperature from 0°C to 40°C results in a 19.7% increase in the PV array capacity and an 8.2% increase in the NPC and COE. Furthermore, according to the ambient temperature of Choman, using PV modules with high sensitivity to temperature is found to be an attractive option. Provided simulation performance analysis proves that the studied parameters must be treated well to establish an enabling environment for solar energy development in Iraq.

## Subject Areas

Renewable Energy; solar energy; PV panels slope; azimuth; temperature; albedo

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