Statistical analysis of PV behaviour under harsh weather aspects

The recent energy demand and environmental problems has led to the expansion of renewable energy use in power generation utilities worldwide. Many projects are being planned in order to implement solar power especially PV generated power into utility grids. However, since PV panels are highly affected by the surrounding environment, it is difficult to predict their output power. Although the manufacturer supply performance data with the panel, those data are taken under Standard Test Condition (STC), while in practical implementation the panel is rarely operated under those conditions. Hence, in this paper the effect of different weather aspects on the performance of the PV panel are studied statistically. Ninety four measured points are collected under practical desert environment in order to perform this study. Minitab software was used in order to conduct the regression analysis on the collected measurements. The results show that the weather aspects under study have a significant effect on the performance of the panel. In addition, it shows that humidity have a cooling effect on the panel which enhances its performance.