Reliability-Based Stand-Alone Photovoltaic System Sizing Design - A Case Study

This paper introduces a method for designing a standalone photovoltaic system to improve the load point reliability, extend the operation life, and minimize the design cost. This approach examines the impacts of solar panel sizes, tilt angles and battery volumes toward load point reliability, as well as the expected system life, by using real insolation data in a given location and random load burdens. The reliability evaluation incorporating solar insolation variations and load point uncertainty is performed. Life evaluation of battery is included in this paper with consideration of the battery State of Charge (SoC) history. The Economical analysis to examine the investment cost, potential reliability cost and benefit is also studied. An application selecting Lincoln, Nebraska as the site is utilized to illustrate proposed methods. This work is valuable for practical stand-alone photovoltaic system sizing designs with reliability, life and economy consideration.