Solar energy analysis supported on hydropower modelling for taking advantage of photovoltaic power plants

The aim of this study is to conceptualize the formatting process of primary energy for power systems using photovoltaic plants, based on the systemic handling of hydropower knowledge defined over the years in a country-level interconnected power system. The main premise adopted is the installation of photovoltaic systems in areas occupied by large hydroelectric dams. The results show that the climatic behavior is specific in each region. Therefore, it has not been possible to find any evidence of standardized correlations between the sunshine and the other climatic and hydrological variables analyzed. Finally, a flow chart that illustrates a consistency in the definition of the distinguishing elements of the inventory process is presented. The purpose of this flow chart is to enable the same inventory process for PV plants in existing hydropower plants, using a comparison method. Thus, this study provides a new way to systematize the solar resource based on a dominated formulation of the water resource.