Simulation studies on integrating photovoltaic plants with Egyptian national utility

Egypt is one of the sunniest countries throughout the whole year. Photovoltaic power systems (PVPS) can be considered as an important option to cover a part of Egyptian energy demand in the near future. In this research a comprehensive study of integrating a PVPS with a large-scale electric utility has been introduced and analysed in the long term range to evaluate the competitiveness of aggregating PVPS alongside conventional generation. Extensive simulation studies have been performed to achieve the optimum combinations of the three systems: thermal, hydro, and photovoltaic. Economic evaluation of integrating PV plants with an existing electric utility has been investigated to achieve the best size of integrated PV plants. The minimum norm approach has been used to solve the optimal operation of photovoltaic plants integrated with hydro and thermal systems. The method has been applied to actual data of both Egyptian National Utility and Egyptian solar radiation.