Method for optimizing power production in photovoltaic modules

Abstract

A method allows positioning the tracker at angles that promote the cooling of photovoltaic modules and therefore, decrease their operating temperature, without reducing the total energy produced thus optimizing power production of photovoltaic (PV) electricity by reducing the working temperature of PV modules of a solar tracker. The method also provides an optimization of the electrical output of the system for particular conditions of instantaneous air temperature and wind speed to improve electrical power generation ratios with respect to those known current techniques taking into account incident power in the PV plane, or in some cases the output power without considering the action of changes in wind speed or air temperature.

Claims

1. Method for optimizing power production in photovoltaic modules wherein θ is an angle of the tracker, the method comprising determining a value of the following variables: a. air temperature (T.sub.air), b. atmospheric pressure (p.sub.air), c. wind speed (W), d. angle of wind direction (σ), e. plane sun-oriented power (POA) being the power in the form of irradiation that reaches the front plane of the module, f. backplane irradiation (Grear), and g. relationship (D) between Gbeam=Front plane beam irradiation, and Gdiff=Front plane diffuse irradiation, the method being characterized by comprising: i. calculation of an interval of possible values for a non sun-oriented angle (α) comprised in a range between −15° and +15° around an optimal sun-oriented tracker angle (β) wherein irradiation value maximizes, ii. calculation of disorientation penalty when moving the tracker to an angle P (α), as per:
P(α)=E(β)−E(α) wherein:
E(α)=μ(Gdiff(α)+Gbeam(β) cos(β−α)+bifaciality.Math.Grear(α)) E(β)=μ(POA+bifaciality.Math.Grear(β)) Pα=power penalty function due to misorientation, Eα=module electrical power estimation at a given temperature value T, POA=plane sun-oriented power being the power in the form of irradiation that reaches the front plane of the module, α=non sun-oriented tracker angle, β=optimal sun-oriented tracker angle, assessed using any of method from the state of the art, in a preferred embodiment of the invention astronomic tracking techniques were used, Bifaciality=module bifaciality μ=PV system electrical conversion efficiency, Grear=backplane irradiation, Gbeam=Front plane beam irradiation, and Gdiff=Front plane diffuse irradiation calculation of the temperature gain Pt (α), based on updated environmental variables selected from the group consisting of: Air temperature (T.sub.air), wind speed (W) and angle of wind direction (σ), beam irradiation and position of the sun, diffuse irradiation and albedo of the soil; as per:
Pt(α)=E(β)γ(T(β)−T(α))) wherein: $T\left(\alpha \right)=(k_0+k_1{T}_{\mathrm{air}}++(k_2+k_3{p}_{\mathrm{air}}{T}_{\mathrm{air}}+k_4{W}_{\mathrm{air}}+$ $k_5\left(\cos \left(\sigma \right)W+k_6{\cos }^2\left(\sigma \right)W^2\right).Math.\left(k_7+k_{8}d+k_9{d}^2\right)++$ ${.Math.}_{i=0}^4{k}_{10+i}\left(\mathrm{albedo}.Math.\mathrm{POA}.Math.d.Math.\cos \alpha \right)i++k_{11}\left(1-\mu \right)(\mathrm{POA}\left(D+1-\frac{{\left(\alpha -\beta \right)}^2}{2}\right)+$ $\mathrm{Grear}\left(k_{12}-k_{13}\mathrm{bifaciality}\right))+k_{14}{T\left(\alpha \right)}^{1/4})$ being: p.sub.air atmospheric pressure T.sub.air Air temperature d pitch or distance between trackers W Wind speed σ angle of wind direction μ solar module efficiency θ tracker angle k.sub.i adjustment parameters of the tracker thermodynamic model iii. obtaining a value for the non sun-oriented angle (α) that minimizes losses due to disorientation Pα−Pt (α), iv. evaluation of the loss due to disorientation for said non sun-oriented angle (α) that minimizes losses due to disorientation Pα−Pt (α) in such a way that: a. should the value losses due to disorientation Pα−Pt (α) determined to be positive, the tracker is actuated to go to the oriented position related to an angle wherein front plane irradiation level Gbeam is maximum, hence θ=β b. should the value of said losses due to disorientation Pα−Pt (α) determined to be negative, the method comprises evaluating: penalty for movement Pm(α) between current position and the estimated position following:
Pm(α)=m.sub.1(θ−α)w.sup.2, being m.sub.1 a parameter of the thermodynamic model, penalty for confidence in measurements Pch(α) following:
Pch(α)=c.sub.1w.sup.2+c.sub.2 cos cos σ being c.sub.1, c.sub.2 parameters of the CFD model, disorientation penalty P(θ) between a current position and an oriented position following:
P(θ)=E(β)−E(θ) temperature gain Pt(θ) between the current position and the oriented position:
Pt(θ)=E(β)γ(T(β)−T(θ))) c. evaluation of the losses together with the disorientation penalty P(α) and temperature gain Pt (α) from the optimal sun-oriented tracker angle (β) as per:
+P(α)−P(θ)+Pt(α)−Pt(θ)+Pm(α)+Pch(α) in such a way that: resulting value being positive, the tracker is not actuated, therefore θ=θ, and resulting value being negative, the tracker is actuated moving to the estimated position where a maximum energy production level considering temperature optimum angle is achieved, therefore θ=α; and the method comprises starting over again from step i.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the air temperature (T.sub.air) is determined by means of sensors associated to the panel.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the wind speed (W) is determined by means of sensors associated to the panel.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the angle of wind direction (σ) is determined by means of sensors associated to the panel.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one irradiation value selected from the group consisting of: backplane irradiation (Grear), front plane beam irradiation or (Gbeam) or Front plane diffuse irradiation (Gdiff), is picked up by on-field sensors.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

(1) To complement the description that is being made and to aid towards a better understanding of the characteristics of the present invention, in accordance with a preferred example of practical embodiment thereof, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description wherein, with illustrative and non-limiting character, the following has been represented:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a diagram showing the steps of the method of the invention

(3) FIGS. 2a, 2b show respective diagrams where the definition of the different angles mentioned hereby angles are represented; therefore, providing an overview of a tracker orientation angle modification procedure.

(4) FIGS. 3a, 3b respectively depict diagrams showing a general description of the tracker orientation angle modification method assessing power losses due to misorientation for a constant temperature T=25°.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(5) The advantages of the invention are better understood from FIG. 1 where the object of the invention is illustrated as a flowchart diagram.

(6) As an added advantage of the method, it allows a precise estimation of the electrical power that a PV module must produce in real operating conditions, so that it improves a process of identifying faults and malfunctioning of the system by comparing estimated power and power produced.

(7) As per FIGS. 2a and 2b, the method of the invention encompasses an estimation of the module operating temperature which is made for a battery of possible tracker angles, based on a set of predetermined variables. These temperatures values are applied to the power received in the form of radiation (Eα) applying linearly the temperature coefficient at maximum power (γ) defined by the panel manufacturers, determining the Efficient power or power affected by the variation in the efficiency of conversion (Ef). Finally, the angle that maximizes this Efficient power is selected as the angle for the orientation of the tracker.

(8) The module temperature for each angle of the tracker is calculated using a thermodynamic model of the tracker based on environmental variables to which the module is exposed, which incorporates model adjustment parameters that describe the tracker and plant geometry, thus such as the thermodynamic and power properties of the module. The environmental input variables of the model may account as: Air temperature, wind speed W and angle of wind direction σ, beam irradiation Gbeam and position of the sun, diffuse irradiation Gdiff and the albedo of the soil Albedo. Note that beam irradiation Gbeam or Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) is measured at the surface of the Earth at a given location with a surface element perpendicular to the Sun excluding diffuse solar irradiation (irradiation that is scattered or reflected by atmospheric components). Direct irradiance is equal to the extraterrestrial irradiance above the atmosphere minus the atmospheric losses due to absorption and scattering and losses depend on time of day (length of light's path through the atmosphere depending on the solar elevation angle), cloud cover, moisture content and other contents. The irradiance above the atmosphere also varies with time of year (because the distance to the sun varies), although this effect is generally less significant compared to the effect of losses on DNI. Diffuse irradiation Gdiff, also called sky irradiation, diffuse skylight, or just skylight, is solar irradiation reaching the Earth's surface after having been scattered from the direct solar beam by molecules or particulates in the atmosphere. The geometric parameters of the plant and the tracker may account as: Distance between trackers or pitch, topography, tracker height, separation between panels, dimensions and gaps in the tracker structure. The parameters derived from the properties of the module, the nominal power conversion efficiency of the module, the bifaciality (for monofacials this value is close to zero), color and characteristics of the surface, type and shape of the frame.

(9) The method produces results based on a balance between: Power falling upon the panel as solar irradiation (front and rear) being absorbed by the module depending on the properties of its surface. This part includes the calculation of the irradiation for the surface of each tracker considering the topography and North-South inclination of each tracker. Power delivered in the form of electricity produced (power conversion efficiency) by both front and rear parts, namely power efficiency allowing determining a percentage of irradiation converted into electricity. Power transferred to the air and to the rest of the bodies in the scene as heat (refrigeration) namely, an amount of heat transferred by refrigeration is estimated considering convective, conductive and radiation factors also accounting for geometric properties of the plant and the topography as well as the position of the set of trackers in the plant. The effect of positions of adjacent trackers which may influence temperature values of other related trackers may be considered as well.

(10) The method may also incorporate a time buffer that analyzes the variability based on the historical wind speed to obtain a stable parameter thus avoiding contiguous position corrections due to gusts.

(11) The complete simulation of the plant considering the topography allows reaching a combination of tracker positions that enables to maximize global generation, instead of independent optimization of trackers. This aspect is hardly achievable by methods based on measured data or machine learning, since it would be unfeasible to consider the range of possible combinations that the application of predictive methods permits.

(12) The main advantage is that it optimizes the electrical production of the system for conditions of instantaneous air temperature and wind speed. It improves the electrical generation with respect to the current technique, considering incident power in the PV plane, or in some cases the output power without considering the action of changes in wind speed or air temperature.

(13) The goal of the method of the invention is based on the balance of the losses due to temperature and/or misorientation. In a preferred embodiment of the object of the invention depicted in FIGS. 3a and 3b, power due to misorientation for a constant module temperature T=25° is assessed:
Pα=E(β)−E(α)
wherein:
E(α)=μ(Gdiff(α)+Gbeam(β)cos(β−α)+bifaciality.Math.Grear(α)) E(β)=μ(POA+bifaciality.Math.Grear(β))

(14) being:

(15) Pα=power penalty function due to misorientation

(16) t=time and date

(17) Eα=module electrical power estimation at a given temperature value, in this preferred embodiment T=25°

(18) POA=Plane sun-oriented power being the power in the form of irradiation that reaches the front plane of the module.

(19) α=Non sun-oriented tracker angle

(20) β=Optimal sun-oriented tracker angle

(21) Bifaciality=module bifaciality (0≅1)

(22) Albedo=soil albedo

(23) μ=PV system electrical conversion efficiency

(24) Grear=Backplane irradiation

(25) Gbeam=Front plane beam irradiation

(26) Gdiff=Front plane diffuse irradiation

(27) The object of the invention is preferably based on on-field measured irradiation values, said values may be collected by sensors configured to capture, among others, backplane irradiation (Grear), front plane beam irradiation or (Gbeam) or Front plane diffuse irradiation (Gdiff) values.

(28) In some embodiments of the invention module temperature as a function of the angle T(α) may be assessed as:

(29) $T\left(\alpha \right)=(k_0+k_1{T}_{\mathrm{air}}++(k_2+k_3{p}_{\mathrm{air}}{T}_{\mathrm{air}}+k_4{W}_{\mathrm{air}}+$$k_5\left(\cos \left(\sigma \right)W+k_6{\cos }^2\left(\sigma \right)W^2\right).Math.\left(k_7+k_{8}d+k_9{d}^2\right)++$${.Math.}_{i=0}^4{k_{10+i}\left(\mathrm{albedo}.Math.\mathrm{POA}.Math.d.Math.\cos \alpha \right)}^i++k_{11}\left(1-\mu \right)(\mathrm{POA}\left(D+1-\frac{{\left(\alpha -\beta \right)}^2}{2}\right)+$$\mathrm{Grear}\left(k_{12}-k_{13}\mathrm{bfacilaity}\right))+k_{14}{T\left(\alpha \right)}^{1/4})$

(30) Being:

(31) p.sub.air atmospheric pressure

(32) T.sub.air Air temperature

(33) d pitch or distance between trackers

(34) W Wind speed

(35) σ angle of wind direction

(36) μ solar module efficiency

(37) θ angle of the solar tracker

(38) k.sub.i adjustment parameters of the solar tracker thermodynamic model.

(39) D=Relationship between beam and diffuse irradiation

(40) Wherein:

(41) T.sub.air is preferably measured in the field by sensors, eventually it may also be determined based on weather forecast or satellite imaging-based predictions.

(42) Wind speed and direction are preferably measured on site by means of one or more wind vane anemometers.

(43) In yet an alternative embodiment, another penalty function may be implemented accounting for the power effort of moving the tracker and the weight of inconvenience of investing time and how far is the extreme point of minimum, as well as an estimation of the probability that the wind changes the next minutes and the future temperature. This penalty function is used in order to decide if it is interesting to carry out the change.
Pm(α)=m.sub.1(θ−α)w.sup.2

(44) being:

(45) Pch=Penalty function evaluating the power losses due to angle change.

(46) αo=current Tracker angle

(47) Prt(α, αo)=power used for rotating the tracker

(48) Pmv(α, αo)=power losses during the tracker movement due to pass lower irradiation points

(49) Pwp(α, αo)=power losses temperature in case of future wind speed with a probability value around 20%.

(50) Being θ as the positioning angle of the tracker θ=β, the method of the invention comprises:

(51) Calculation of an interval of possible a in a range between −15° and +15° around the Oriented angle doing so in one-degree steps.
α=β−Δ . . . β+Δ
Calculation of disorientation penalty when going to an angle P (α), as per:
P(α)=E(β)−E(α)
Calculation of the temperature gain Pt (α), based on the updated environmental variables as per:
Pt(α)=E(β)γ(T(β)−T(α)))

(52) Obtaining a value for angle α that minimizes the loss due to disorientation Pα−Pt(α).

(53) Evaluation of the loss due to disorientation for said angle that minimizes the loss due to disorientation: Should the value of said loss determined to be positive, the tracker is actuated to go to the oriented position, hence θ=β. Should the value of said loss determined to be negative, the method comprises evaluating penalty functions:
Pm(α)=m.sub.1(θ−α)w.sup.2
Pch(α)=c.sub.1w.sup.2+c.sub.2 cos cos σ
P(θ)=E(β)−E(θ)
Pt(θ)=E(β)γ(T(β)−T(θ)))

(54) Then, a calculation of penalty for movement between current position and the estimated Pm (α), and penalty for confidence in the measure Pch (α) disorientation between the current position and the oriented P (θ) and losses due to temperature gain between the current position and the oriented Pt (θ) are carried out.

(55) Evaluation of the sum of the above terms together with the disorientation penalty P(α) and temperature gain Pt (α) from the angle β as per:
+P(α)−P(θ)+Pt(α)−Pt(θ)+Pm+Pch

(56) If this resulting value is positive, the tracker is not actuated, therefore θ=θ

(57) If this resulting value is negative, the tracker is actuated moving to the estimated position where the temperature optimum angle is achieved, therefore θ=α and the method starts over again from the calculation of an interval of possible α in a range between −15° and +15° around the Optimal sun-oriented tracker angle (β) preferably doing so in one degree steps.
α=β−Δ . . . β+Δ