PV comparison to non-food crops literature review/Solar Energy use in US agriculture

Solar Energy use in US agriculture[edit | edit source]

Solar Energy use in US agriculture^[1]

Abstract: The main purpose of the article is to discuss the use of Solar energy by the farmers in USA. It discusses the various Energy policies & incentives available to the farmer in adopting this approach. The data available to the us in the article which can be useful to us is: Case studies- The paper discusses cases in USA where such a method was adopted. This section provides us information like system size, total cost of the system, maintenance charges etc. It discusses many case studies in different states of USA, hence giving us a wider range of study. It also provides us information on the number of arrays used, cost incurred.

• Information on generation cost & Net Metering
• PV Solar Radiation demographic distribution- The article has a figure that shows the states in the USA which receive maximum-minimum irradiation. It also describes the tilt angle of the arrays when placed in a certain hemisphere.
• Applications of Solar Energy in Farms- The article discusses the areas where Solar Energy produced in a farmer would be useful. For example, the Solar Energy produced could help the farmer in heating water or refrigeration etc. This could be useful when we highlight the advantages of installing PV farms on Agricultural land.
• Average Expenses for installing PV setup- The paper discusses in brief, the costs incurred to a farmer in setting up a PV farm. Depending upon the output capacity, average expenses are estimated.

Topaz Solar Farm, California[edit | edit source]

Topaz Solar Farm, California<ref>CleanEnergy Action Project<ref>

Abstract: California, a major source of Solar Energy, has many PV farms. Since we have reviewed the production of Pima & Lint Cotton in California, it would therefore be useful in studying the PV farms in this region. One such huge PV farm is the Topaz Solar Farm developed by First solar. The data important to us is:

• Technology- The section discusses the type of Photovoltaic technology used.
• Rated Capacity- in Mega Watts
• Annual Production- in Gigwatts hour/ year
• Expenditure incurred

PV System in Colorado[edit | edit source]

PV system in Colorado<ref>High Penetration Photovoltaic Case Study Report by J. Bank, B. Mather, J. Keller, and M. Coddington, National Renewable Energy Laboratory<ref>

Abstract: Colorado has a significant percentage of PV farms and since we have discussed Barley Farms in this region, this article will be useful for us. After reviewing the Colorado State University Foothills Campus, Fort Collins, Colorado Section; the following information can be saved:

• System Size: Output Capacity in Mega Watts
• Area covered & Type of Array used
• Type of Solar Arrays and modules used

Solar Photovoltaic Systems competing in the Energy Sector[edit | edit source]

Solar Photovoltaic Systems competing in the Energy Sector<ref>European Photovoltaic Industry Association September 2011<ref>

Abstract: In our project, since we are very interested in creating a sensitivity graph, wherein we will plot how the Cost incurred & revenue earned from a PV setup will increase/decrease over the next 20-25 years, this article can provide us with many supporting information. The main highlight is to predict how the costs of PV setups will drop in the upcoming years, thereby making Photovoltaic systems a major competitor in the field of Energy. The information relevant to us is :

• Formula for Generation Cost- The article uses the LCOE formula to find out the actual cost incurred during the production of PV electricity. It takes into account the maintenance, installation investments as well as Net present value of the amount of energy produced.
• How to find the cost of a PV system- The paper explains in detail how to go about finding out the expense of a PV setup. It also takes into account the expenses of all the equipments used in PV systems.
• PV module price over the last 20 years- Although this article shows the mentioned information to be relevant in Europe, it can help us show how to go about plotting such a graph when we plot it for USA.
• Prices of PV systems till year 2020- Once again, though the information is relevant in the Europe Market, it doesn't necessarily mean that it would not be relevant to USA. Also, it can show us a good approximation of the decrease in prices of PV systems.
• Sensitivity Analysis- The article describes what are the factors that can cause the prices of PV systems to increase/decrease.

Limitation: The major limitation of this article is, though it provides loads of relevant information, it is relevant for European countries. Nevertheless, it can serve as a good guide when we make a sensitivity analysis of PV systems.

Technology Roadmap for Solar[edit | edit source]

Technology Roadmap for Solar<ref>S. P. Energy, "Technology Roadmap," 2014.<ref>

Abstract: This piece of literature is very relevant to us as it discusses a lot of relevant information about PV plants in USA like:

• $/Mwh of Solar Energy in California from 2010-2013- This can help us understand how the $/Mwh has increased over the past few years, and will help us predict how it may increase in the upcoming years.
• Potential for Cost Reductions- This section reveals information on how the prices of Solar Modules fell in 2008 & 2012. It has a very informative graph which shows how the PV module cost per Wattage of Power generated will decrease from 1976-2035. The curve has not been made on mere assumptions, but observations and calculations.
• Cells and modules- The article also describes how the efficiency modules will increase by 2020.

Photovoltaic Pricing trends[edit | edit source]

PV Pricing Trends<ref>D. Feldman, "Photovoltaic (PV) pricing trends: historical, recent, and near-term projections," 2014.<ref>

Abstract: As the title suggests, the article discusses the way the PV systems are priced currently (2011-2013) and how they are predicted to vary in the upcoming years. The following information will be useful for us when we plot our sensitivity graphs:

• Installed PV Module price in $/Watt from 1998-2011- This section has a very clear graph that shows how the cost of PV modules decreased from 1998 to 2011 as the capacity of the plant increased.
• A Focused study on California- The literature has a focused case study on the state of California where it compares the average price of PV modules per Watt in the year 2011-2012. Since we are already analyzing a PV farm in California, this piece of information will be useful.
• State wise summary of Average Module price per Watt- States like Texas, Arizona California etc are mentioned which is important to us.
• Price of Module + Inverter + BOS in $/Watt- Here BOS relates to the expenses incurred for installation, maintenance, labor etc.

A Review of Solar Photovoltaic Levelized Cost of Electricity[edit | edit source]

A Review of Solar Photovoltaic Levelized Cost of Electricity<ref>Published as: K. Branker, M. J.M. Pathak, J. M. Pearce, "A Review of Solar Photovoltaic Levelized Cost of Electricity", Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews 15 , pp.4470-4482 (2011).<ref>

Abstract: Since there is lot of misinterpretations on how the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) concept works, this article publishes a clear methodology on how to go about using the concept of LCOE on a PV setup. The main features of the article are:

• The exact formula used for calculating LCOE
• Pointing out the way LCOE concept is misinterpreted in today's market
• System Life of Solar PV Plant
• Explaining the concept with a real life case study

Advantages: The main benefits of this article is that, the information is explained with lots of graphs, figures and tabulated results. Hence, referring this article primarily while making a sensitivity analysis of PV will be very useful.

Solar PV plant in Philippines, USA[edit | edit source]

Solar PV plant in Philippines, USA<ref>Edward Kern, International Institute of Education & HMW International September 2009<ref>

Abstract: This literature review provides us very useful information about the Photovoltaic plant established in Philippines, USA. All the previous PV plants we have discussed have huge capacity (in Megawatts). Hence it would be useful to discuss certain projects with only a kW capacity output.

• Number of Panels
• Orientation of the arrays and tilt angle
• Annual Insolation Data in kWh/m^2 per day
• Lessons Learned- This section discusses all the methods that can be adopted by this PV plant to increase their efficiency.

Buying a PV system[edit | edit source]

Buying a PV system<ref>California Energy Commission 2003<ref>

Abstract: The main purpose of this handbook is to provide a guidance to consumers when purchasing a PV system. This article is useful to us because it provides us the following information:

• How much electricity will a PV system produce?- This section discusses the amount of electricity that a certain PV setup can produce. We can refer this section when we simulate a PV system.
• Cost & Expenses of PV system- This section refers to the costs incurred while establishing a PV system. But at the same time it discusses the incentives provided by the California Government which helps in reducing the prices. It also discusses what a PV user monthly pays for his/her setup.

Monthly Cost Savings Table

A guide to installing PV systems in California[edit | edit source]

A guide to installing PV systems in California<ref>A. Ballouti, F. Djahli, A. Bendjadou, N. Belhaouchet, and A. Benhamadouche, "MPPT system for photovoltaic module connected to battery adapted for unstable atmospheric conditions using VHDL-AMS," Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 2021–2031, 2014.<ref>

Abstract: This guide helps customers to install PV setups from a small scale lever (roof-tops) to large scale setups. This article is important to us because it provides the following data:

• Sun angle & orientation in California- This section provides us data relevant to California. Hence if we are to design a PV setup in California, it would be useful to use this data.
• Annual Energy expected from PV at STC in California- This data is given city wise in California.
• Labor costs and incentives
• Estimating Electricity Savings
• System installation procedure- This section provides in detail the connections of the inverters and batteries to the PV arrays. This will be useful when we simulate a PV model.

Photovoltaic Systems for Farms[edit | edit source]

PV systems for Farms<ref>National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA NREL/BR-412-21732 January 1997<ref>

Abstract: Since our project revolves around setting up a PV arrangement in a farm, this article proves to be relevant. In summary the article has the following information which would be useful to us:

• Where can the PV output power be used in a farm?- This section of the article answers the question to where the PV energy can be utilized by the farmer in his/her farm. Various applications like pumping water, electric fence etc have been specified.
• System Specifications for each application- The article also describes what kind of a PV system is required for each application. Technical Specifications like rated power, operating voltage, cost of installation as well as maintenance is discussed.
• Working with the sun- This part of the article provides a very fundamental but useful information answering questions like " AC or DC electricity, Principle of Tracking, What are PV modules and how to choose them etc.

Although we find only these 3 points to be relevant from this article, this article has discussed many applications where the PV energy can be put to use in a plant in depth. Hence this article can be a good source of reference for our project.

Economics of a Solar Photovoltaic System[edit | edit source]

Economics of a Solar PV system<ref>University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources<ref>

Abstract: A major component of our project will involve the calculation of how much does a PV system cost to a farmer. Hence it is vital we review many literature articles based around this concept. This article provides us the information like:

• Solar System Examples- A section of the article discusses many case studies. It takes into account various PV examples, like 10kw Array 100 kW array etc. Based on a few assumptions it then calculates it calculates the expenses and the payback that a consumer can get with and without incentives. The article also discusses in how many years the consumer will get his/her payback value. This will help us draw a useful comparison against non-food crops.

It also has an internal link which discusses how to calculate net present value and internal rate of return which are useful while discussing the economics of a PV plant.

Cost Analysis of Solar PV systems[edit | edit source]

Cost Analysis of PV systems<ref>International Renewable Energy Agency (IREA), 2012.<ref>

Abstract: The main objective of the report is to provide simple and clear guidelines that can help us calculate the cost and efficiency of PV systems. The data from the report that we are interested in are:

• Typical cost & performance of PV systems- A short yet very informative table provides us information about the cost of PV modules in $/Watt as of 2010. In addition to the Installation cost, it also provides info about the Efficiency as well as the Levelised cost of electricity in USD/kWh. Since the data provided is relatively recent (year 2010), it will be easy for us to predict the costs and performance over the upcoming years.
• An overview & comparison of major PV technologies- This table draws a comparison amongst various PV technologies available in the market today. The data which we can extract from this table is the efficiency of the PV modules, Current PV module cost, PV module size, area required per kW output etc. Since it covers a wide range of PV modules, it will be a good source of reference.
• Cost and performance of PV modules- The section of the article discusses in detail the way the average price of a PV module is depreciating. The data is supported with many informative graphs and mathematical numbers which can prove to be a good pool of information to us. The nice feature about this article is that, it covers the cost of Inverters, tracking components, site preparation, installation and many other electrical components. It also discusses the cost of large scale PV systems in USA. The good feature about the report is, it provides numerous graphs to support its fact. These graphs will be useful to us in our project.
• Cost Reduction potential for PV modules- This section of the report deals with predicting and understanding how the prices of various PV modules will drop from 2011-2015. By analyzing the rate of depreciation, we can also predict the decline rate from 2015 onwards. It provides a very good summarized report of how the Overall PV system costs will drop (both residential & commercial).

PV systems in Arizona[edit | edit source]

PV systems in Arizona<ref>V. P. Lonij, A. E. Brooks, K. Koch, and A. D. Cronin, "Analysis of 80 rooftop PV systems in the Tucson, AZ area," in Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), 2012 38th IEEE, 2012, pp. 000549–000553.<ref>

Abstract: This journal paper provides the complete field analysis data of the PV systems installed on 80 rooftops in Tucson, Arizona. The paper provides technical data in depth addressing areas like

• Module manufacturer and area of the PV system
• System Orientation- The article discusses the tilt angle of the PV systems as required in the state of Arizona. It discusses the most common tilt angle and orientation employed by most of the PV installations. This data will be useful to us when we build our PV modules using Software Packages like PVsyst.
• System Location, Size, Age and module type.- This section of the article mentions the characteristics of the System and the type of module it uses. It also has informative graphs showing Annual Financial yield.

Discussing the economics of Solar Electricity[edit | edit source]

Economics of Solar Power<ref>E. Baker, M. Fowlie, D. Lemoine, and S. S. Reynolds, "The Economics of Solar Electricity," Annual Review of Resource Economics, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 387–426, Jun. 2013.<ref>

Abstract: This is one more literature which provides us information about the economics of Solar Electricity. The article discusses the Technology improvised by PV systems and at the same time discuss the changes in the cost of the PV systems. This data will be useful to us. Employing the LCOE technique, short run costs are discussed. At the same time, a table is provided which tabulates the different types of PV modules along with their life span, cost/Wattage Power, Efficiency as well as the short term costs by the LCOE and various other methods. The advantage of this article is that it also discusses the configurations of the PV modules in various places in USA like Boston, California, Arizona and New Jersey. It discusses the Panel Orientation, Cost per Wattage Power, % increase in economic value and various other data which would be immensely useful to us. One more positive point about this article with respect to our project is that it discusses the Installation cost in $/Watt and predicts its behaviour till 2050. This prediction would act to be a very good source of reference when we plot our graphs.

Solar Electricity vs Regular Electricity[edit | edit source]

[ http://solarcellcentral.com/cost_page.html#solar_cost Solar Electricity Facts ]<ref>Four Peaks Technologies, INC 2011<ref>

Abstract: One aspect of our project will also deal with understanding what sort of revenue the generated Solar Electricity will fetch the farmer. Hence it would be a good idea to study what is the value of Electricity generated by PV cells these days and also compare it with the normal cost of regular electricity. This link gives us the exact information we are looking for, though briefly:

• Regular Cost of Electricity as of 2011- A section of the website provides useful information about the present cost of regular electricity in USA. It categories the types of electricity consumption too: Residential, Commercial & Industrial and specifies its consumption rate in cents/kWh. States like New York, Hawaii, Alaska, Washington etc are also discussed as examples.
• Prices of Solar Electricity- Here the prices of Solar Photovoltaics (crystalline silicon cells) are discussed in $/Watt (DC) till the year 2013. Average prices of Rooftop installations, Large commercial as well as Utility scale rates are mentioned.
• 'Depreciation Rate of PV cells- By using the LCOE method and with the help of graphical figures, the rate of decline in the cost of PV cells are discussed. It is also compared against Coal, Natural gas, Nuclear etc. which proves to be a good point of reference.
• Prices of PV modules till 2015- By stating various reasons, the website has predicted the drop in PV cells from 6$/Watt to 1$/Watt since 1990 till 2015. By using the same reasons discussed by the website and by doing some analysis, we can also predict the drop in PV module prices in the near future.
• Typical cost of PV rooftop setups in the south-west regions of USA- By taking the Phoenix Metro area, the website discusses the various cost factors going into installing a rooftop PV system. Factors like System size, cost of modules, initial cost to customer, incentives provided to customer, break even factor etc. are being discussed here.

Break Even prices for Solar Energy[edit | edit source]

Break even prices for Solar Energy<ref>Paul Denholm, Robert M. Margolis, Sean Ong, and Billy Roberts. Technical Report NREL/TP-6A2-46909 December 2009<ref>

Abstract: The main objective of this article is to evaluate the break even price for a Solar PV residential customer in USA. The article defines Break even price as "cost of PV-generated electricity equals the cost of electricity purchased from the grid." It is important for us to understand, when it comes to our project, when will the PV setup break even for the farmer so that we can analyse whether it will be beneficial to him/her as opposed to growing the non-food crops. The major areas of interest for us from this article are:

• Break Even costs- As of year 2008-2009, the article discusses how the Net present cost of a PV system will equal the Net present benefit realised to the owner. In short, this section shows in detail how a break even cost is calculated. It defines what Net Present Cost is, which includes Discount Factor, Loan Payment etc. It also discusses what Net present benefit means to a customer.
• Future market sensitivities of break even costs- A section of the article also has a table where the break even costs considering various base cases like base payment, federal taxes, incentives etc are tabulated and finally the break even cost in $/watt for many states of USA as of 2009 is clearly represented graphically.
• incentives given by the government used in this case study- The USA government provides lots of incentives when it comes to PV setups. This article has a very nice State and Local Incentives table as of 2009 which provides information like Tax Incentives etc. Since its important to us to keep in mind the incentive factor offered by the government, this article would be very useful to us.

Solar Power Prospects[edit | edit source]

Solar Power Prospects<ref>NATIONAL CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS: Solar Power Prospects by H. Sterling Burnett. Policy Report No. 334, May 2011.<ref>

Abstract: Since our whole aim of our research revolves around one question "What is the remuneration earned by the farm from PV farms against non-food crop farms?", it would be important to us to gather as much information as possible regarding the various cost and break even factors of Solar PV systems. The major points of interest from this article are:

• Solar Power Must Be Profitable in Order to Compete - An immensely useful point of reference, this section discusses how and why solar pv setups are not very competitive in the current market, but at the same time they also discuss by how much the solar cell prices must drop to become competitive. This information would be very useful to us, as if the farmer is in a area with average sunlight and high electricity rates, this section will help us significantly in plotting the Sensitivity Analysis.
• Solar Power grid parity- Grid parity basically refers to that concept where a Renewable Source of Energy can produce electricity that can be purchased at a price lesser than or equal to the cost of purchasing electricity from a grid. This section discusses various projections by the year 2020 when the cost of Solar Electricity purchased will increase and discusses how places like Hawaii have already reached parity.
• Hypothetical Solar Power Plant Revenue for Select Cities- By taking many regions of USA, this section tabulates the Average State price ($/kWh).
• Annual Revenue Net of Capital Costs for a Solar Power Plant in Various Cities- This section mentions the installed capital cost as well as the Annual Financing cost (loans from banks and various other sources). Though we may not get into loans and interest rates in our project, this table however gives detailed information about various financial aspects of PV systems in many states of USA.
• Capital Cost per Kilowatt- This table compares the $/kW of coal, natural gas, wind and Solar PV. The way the comparison is made, can provide us guidance on how to draw such a comparison with PV farms against non-food crop farms.

Photovoltaics Watt Calculator[edit | edit source]

PW calculator<ref>National Renewable Energy Laboratory<ref>

Abstract: This online calculator, developed by the NREL, "Estimates the energy production and cost of energy of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) energy systems throughout the world. It allows homeowners, small building owners, installers and manufacturers to easily develop estimates of the performance of potential PV installations." Probably one of the most important sources of reference, this website goes a long way in helping us in the following way:

• Obtaining the weather data- Just by entering a city in USA, this website fetches all the data pertaining to weather in that area.
• Existing system information- The website displays a Google Map which displays ALL the PV systems in that area. Just by clicking one particular setup, information about the PV system like System Size, Module type, Array Type, System loss, Tilt (degrees) and many other advanced parameters are discussed. It ALSO discusses the economics of the system like the cost of electricity in that particular area, Initial cost, Incentives offered by the State Government and the Tax Credit.
• Results- By taking the Solar Irradiation data, Energy produced & energy value the calculator calculates annual revenue earned.

Probably one of the most literatures that we can refer, this link has tremendous benefits. It easily locates all the PV systems in various regions of USA and has all the parameters enlisted for calculating the revenue earned by the farmer. This website will be a major source of reference for us in our project

Economic analysis of Solar PV systems: Achieving grid parity[edit | edit source]

Economic analysis of Solar PV systems: Achieving grid parity<ref>Economic Analysis of Solar Power: Achieving Grid Parity by Annie Hazlehurst- Joint MBA / MS Environment & Resources Candidate, Stanford Graduate School of Business.<ref>

Abstract: It will be beneficial to us to read as many literature on Grid parity of Solar as possible. This article, published by an author of Stanford, once again provides very insightful information about how the PV systems achieve grid parity in the near future:

• How to calculate $/kWh- This section discusses how to use the LCOE algorithm, which has been discussed in detail before, in calculating the amount of $ spent per kWh of Energy. Sample calculations are also displayed which help us get a better understanding. During the process of calculations, many factors like capital cost, size of system, life cycle etc are discussed which is important for our research.
• The ultimate goal: Grid Parity- By taking an example of Los Angeles, California USA a graph has been made which show how many factors like Solar LCOE, peak electricity cost , electricity retail price etc may increase or decrease in the upcoming years. This graph gives us a better understanding of how to achieve grid parity.
• Total cost of PV systems- A bar graph breaks up the various components of PV systems, and for each component the cost of installation is mentioned.
• What we need to do to achieve parity- This section takes a look at all the methods that should be looked at to achieve grid parity. At a certain stage of our project, if we find that a PV system is proving to be a bane to the farmer, we can have a look at the methods mentioned in order for the PV systems to become beneficial to the farmer. This section discusses % growth sensitivity, how far should PV systems grow etc which can help us during our sensitivity analysis.

Analytical model for solar PV and CSP electricity costs: Present LCOE values and their future evolution[edit | edit source]

Analytical model for solar PV and CSP electricity costs: Present LCOE values and their future evolution<ref>J. Hernández-Moro and J. M. Martínez-Duart, "Analytical model for solar PV and CSP electricity costs: Present LCOE values and their future evolution," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 20, pp. 119–132, Apr. 2013.<ref>

Abstract: This paper presents a mathematical model for calculating LCOE of PV systems CSP (Concentrating Solar Power) electricity. The paper also talks about future evolution & sensitivity analysis which is a critical part of our project. The major point of interest to us are:

• Present status of PV systems- This section discusses the cost of PV systems in $/kWh against Installed Capacity (MW) with the help of various graphs. It discusses average annual growth which can be useful to us when it comes to doing a Sensitivity Analysis. The much discussed LCOE algorithm is also defined and the Net Present Value (NPV) is explained. All the factors that need to be considered like Land cost, Annual costs, Performance factors, solar resources etc are discussed with the help of graphs and figures. Based on this a Sensitivity Analysis is done till the year 2050.

The advantage of this Literature is that, the data is supported with many graphs and Sensitivity Analysis is done till the year 2050, which would also be ideally our objective.

• Grid parity- The concept of Grid parity is also discussed here. The paper finds that due to the reducing costs of PV systems will cause Grid parity to be reached by the year 2050. The way they concluded this, understanding and analysing this will be of use to our project.

A 50 KILOWATT DISTRIBUTED GRID-CONNECTED PHOTOVOLTAIC GENER4TION SYSTEM FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING[edit | edit source]

A 50 KILOWATT DISTRIBUTED GRID-CONNECTED PHOTOVOLTAIC GENER4TION SYSTEM FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING<ref>B. H. Chowdhury, S. Muknahallipatna, J. J. Cupal, J. C. Hamann, T. Dinwoodie, and D. Shugar, "A 50 kilowatt distributed grid-connected photovoltaic generation system for the University of Wyoming," in Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 1997., Conference Record of the Twenty-Sixth IEEE, 1997, pp. 1369–1372.<ref>

Abstract: This article describes a 50kW Solar PV setup in Wyoming. This IEEE paper is full of detail and information that we can use:

• Design & Construction of the PV setup
• System Configuration
• Features of the system - number of modules, number of strings, module current etc.
• Evaluation of System performance

Sensitivity Analysis of very large scale PV systems[edit | edit source]

Sensitivity Analysis of very large scale PV systems<ref>M. Ito, K. Kato, K. Komoto, T. Kichimi, and K. Kurokawa, "A Sensitivity Analysis of Very Large-Scale Photovoltaic Power Generation (VLS-PV) Systems in Deserts," in Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, Conference Record of the 2006 IEEE 4th World Conference on, 2006, vol. 2, pp. 2387–2390.<ref>

Abstract: This paper gives a step by step procedure on how to do a sensitivity analysis of PV systems. The paper performs 5 different types of sensitivity analysis which allows us to get a better understanding of how its done. The 5 sensitivity analysis that were done were:

• Sensitivity analysis of PV module efficiency
• Sensitivity analysis of PV module degradation
• Sensitivity analysis of interest period and depreciation period
• Sensitivity analysis of labor cost
• Sensitivity analysis of Cables used

Although the analysis was done for a different country where the prices may vary, this article gives us a very good understanding on how the sensitivity analysis needs to be done.

Solar Potential Assessment using PVsyst[edit | edit source]

Solar Potential Assessment using PVsyst<ref>C. P. Kandasamy, P. Prabu, and K. Niruba, "Solar potential assessment using PVSYST software," in Green Computing, Communication and Conservation of Energy (ICGCE), 2013 International Conference on, 2013, pp. 667–672.<ref>

Abstract: Our project will involve simulation: where we will be building an Online model of PV system. PVsyst, a famous online simulation tool for PV systems, will be one of our important simulation software packages. This paper gives us a good idea as to how to use PVsyst software to calculate and assess PV systems.

The article defines the various parameters (like tilt angle, azimuth etc.) that will go into the simulation of PV systems. Various factors like Nominal Power, Load profile, Module Type and technology used is also discussed and analysed. A detailed Performance Analysis is also done with the help of Inverter and PV data.

The advantage of this article is that it also discusses losses and Incident energy which will be useful to us when doing our simulation.

Solar Trends in USA[edit | edit source]

Solar Trends<ref>Solar Energy Industries Association, 2013<ref>

Abstract: At this stage it would be a good idea to get information about the number of Solar cells or installations that have been done in USA over the last few years. This would help us understand how the PV systems demand is growing which would eventually cause a decrease in their prices. This website provides us all the information we need:

• Annual PV installations (MW)- With the help of a graph, the PV installations (residential, commercial and utility) in MegaWatts from 2000-2013 is displayed. The graph shows how the MW installations have increased over the couple of years and at the same time, the prices have dropped too.
• PV installations state-wise- The section of the website shows which states in USA have had the maximum PV installations over the past couple of years. This would help us choose a region of study. For example, since Georgia has a large number of PV installations as mentioned in this section, we can choose this as our case study in our project.
• Market Segment Trends- This section shows how the demand for solar equipments in the market have gone up considerably from 2000-2013. It shows the growth rate in the market when it comes to PV installations.
• System Prices- A detailed analysis is made as how the prices of PV modules have dropped significantly over the couple of years. Prices of components are discussed too.

Land Use Requirements for Solar Power Plants in the United States[edit | edit source]

Acres/MW and Packing factor<ref>S. Ong, C. Campbell, P. Denholm, R. Margolis, and G. Heath, "Land-use requirements for solar power plants in the United States," Retrieved December, vol. 10, p. 2014, 2013.<ref>

Abstract: This document covers an important topic: What is required from the land where the PV systems are going to be installed? The important data that is to be pulled of from this document is:

• Summary of Land use requirements- This table provides a very good summary of the acres of land required per MW of production and generation of PV electricity. It categorizes PV setups too as Small & Large PV setups.
• Total Land use by PV tracking type- This table provides land requirements (acres/MW) (acres/gWh/yr) for a PV setup with tracking properties.
• Evaluation PV packing factors- The way the Solar Arrays are packed close to each other in order to maximize efficiency is basically termed as Packing Factor. In case of our project, it is important to see whether many PV modules can be squeezed into the farm and hence this term is important. The section of the website what is the packing factor of this PV setup.
• Land Use state-wise- Finally the acres of land used for MW of power production in states like California, Arizona which we have discussed before will be useful to us.

Solar Markets[edit | edit source]

Solar markets<ref>Solar Cell Central, 2013<ref>

Abstract: This Literature gives data about the number of Solar modules sold from 2011-2013. Though it provides information about other countries too, it covers USA to a detailed extent. Topics like number of Solar Cells, PV growth, drop in prices etc are covered. This data will help us during the Sensitivity Analysis stage of our project.

References[edit | edit source]