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Techno-economic study for a50 MW PV plant in Nigeria
Dalarna University, School of Information and Engineering.
2022 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

As part of Nigeria’s drive to increase electricity production capacity and shift to renewablesources, a new 50 MW photovoltaic (PV) plant is proposed for a town in north-west Nigeria.Rather than using conventional monofacial modules and fixed mounting, it is of interest toconsider a selection of new technologies which are attracting growing attention in the globalutility PV market. These can increase energy output, and could be used to advantage in this50 MW plant. However, the technologies, namely bifacial modules and solar tracking, aremore expensive than their conventional counterparts, while their relative performancedepends on the latitude and climate of the plant location. Thus their economic benefitcannot be taken for granted. The aim of this study is to propose multiple designs for the50 MW plant using different combinations of module and mounting technologies, findingtheir economic order of merit by estimating their respective levelised costs of electricity(LCOEs).Using the simulation software PVsyst, the electricity production of different plant layoutsand component configurations was estimated. Key parameters such as tilt angle and pitchdistance were varied in order to optimise each configuration of technologies. Havingsourced economic data from the industry and literature, lifetime plant costs were calculated,which in combination with lifetime electricity production, were used to estimate the LCOE.As expected, results indicated that the optimum configuration was bifacial modules mountedon horizontal single-axis tracking (SAT), followed by monofacial modules on horizontalSAT. Fixed installations had greater LCOEs by a reasonable margin, while the LCOEdifference between monofacial and bifacial modules on fixed mounting was within the errorof the calculation, meaning this choice relies on more accurate input data. A sensitivityanalysis allowed uncertainty in the results to be gauged, and highlighted the factors whichmost influence LCOE, so that efforts to increase profitability can be focussed in the rightplaces. Finally, suggestions are offered to help optimise bifacial and tracking installations bycomparison with conventional plants.The conclusions drawn herein will be specifically relevant to the Swedish developer and EPCcontractor Svenska Solenergigruppen which, in due course, will submit a plant designproposal to the project developer of the 50 MW plant. However, it is hoped that this workwill act as a guide for any EPC contractor or developer working on a utility PV plant in subSaharan Africa, allowing efficient design of an optimal system.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2022.
National Category
Energy Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:du-39460OAI: oai:DiVA.org:du-39460DiVA, id: diva2:1637146
Subject / course
Energy Technology
Available from: 2022-02-11 Created: 2022-02-11

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CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • chicago-author-date
  • chicago-note-bibliography
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf