DESIGN OF PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS FOR REMOTE VILLAGE IN YEMEN

Abstract

In this thesis, the design of photovoltaic systems for a remote village in Yemen is presented. The design includes stand-alone PV system and hybrid system with diesel generator, also the possibility of connecting PV system to the national network is also studied. In order to provide practical design for this village, the data was collected through the Ministry of Electricity in Yemen. It includes solar radiation and temperature, in addition to a field investigation is conducted to estimate the electrical loads. To choose the optimal design for feeding the village, a comparison was done through two methods: the first by using heuristic approach and the second through the use of HOMER program. The first method depends on calculating the sizes of the various components of the system, such as the number of PV panels, number of batteries and diesel generator capacity, according to the lowest cost on the lifetime of the system and the most reliable system. While the second method is based on HOMER optimization program, the program is also used to study the effect of the variation in solar radiation and interest rate factor on the cost of energy for systems. A MATLAB / SIMULINK model for a PV grid connected system is also implemented. A maximum power point tracking algorithm is applied to extract as much energy as possible during solar radiation change. PI controller is also applied in the structure of the inverter. Its parameters are optimized using Linearized Biogeography Based Optimization technique (LBBO). Also, the low voltage ride through (LVRT) control was carried out to keep the PV array connected to the grid during voltage sags.