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Course Outline
Energy from the Sun
- Solar irradiance principles
- Measure of merit for incident solar
- What makes a location good?
- Factors affecting incident energy
- Diurnal/seasonal pattern of incident energy
Solar Power Assessment
- Solar insolation mapping
- Standards
- Uncertainty and "bankability"
- Data collection and analysis
- Reports and graphs
Electric Power Generation and Delivery Fundamentals
- Power system fundamentals
- Conversion of DC to AC
- Power flow analysis example
- Real and reactive power
- Power system operation, control and protection
Photovoltaic Basics
- Semiconductors and the photovoltaic effect
- A brief history of the development of PV cells
- Cell materials: mono- and poly-crystalline silicon, cadmium telluride,
CIGS
- Makeup of solar panels from solar cells
- Conversion efficiency
Solar Plant Components and Overview
- Plant design and optimization
- Solar panels and racks
- DC electrical connections
- Inverter block with step-up transformer
- AC collection
- Power plant controls and grid integration features
Solar Cells and Modules
- Current-irradiance and voltage-temperature relationships
- Power-current relationship and maximum power point
- Incidence angle
- Electrical effect of shading
- Hot spots and by-pass diodes
- Reliability, testing, and spectral response
DC System Design
- Panel sizing for site conditions
- Connecting panels as a string
- String planning and layout
- String DC combination levels
- DC cabling to inverter
- DC system protection
- Losses within strings
Inverter and Power Control
- The inverter as the heart of the power block
- Inverter equipment and modules
- DC connections from re-combiner
- Maximizing energy harvest through DC voltage control
- AC current regulation for real and reactive power
AC Collector System
- Collector system overview and single-line
- Collector layout and installation
- Load flow modeling and sizing of conductors
- Inverters and step-up transformers
- System grounding considerations
- Reactive power and harmonic filters
Civil and Geotechnical Issues
- Geotechnical investigations: site preparation and earthworks, foundation considerations
- Ground-mount foundation solutions, rammed posts, helicals, or ground screws; ballast systems
- Design loads: dead loads; wind, snow, and seismic zones; adfreeze considerations
- Racking assembly
- Panel installation, connections, and wiring
- Measurement of soil thermal resistivity
Interconnection of Renewable Energy Plants with the Electric Grid
- Interconnection agreements and studies
- Grid codes
- Disturbance ride-through
- Post-fault recovery
- Solar plant modeling in power system analyses
- Cloud transients, ramp rates, and the case for energy storage
Connection of Distributed PV Solar Units
- Market drivers of rooftop PV units
- Impacts of rooftop PV units on a distribution feeder: voltage considerations, harmonics, feeder ampacity limits
- Distribution feeder PV "hosting" limits
Bulk Power System Considerations
- IEEE 1547 and "Smart Inverters"
- Emerging needs for low voltage ride through: emerging needs for voltage / power factor control, status and changes in the standard
- Changing load curves due to solar variability