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Yield and performance analysis of the first grid-connected solar farm at Moshoeshoe I International Airport, Lesotho

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  • Mpholo, Moeketsi
  • Nchaba, Teboho
  • Monese, Molebatsi

Abstract

The performance of a newly installed 281 kWp first grid-connected photovoltaic solar farm in Lesotho is evaluated against the basic parameters stated in the International Electro-Technical Commission (IEC) Standard 61724 and a number of other studies. The performance parameters selected are those that mainly indicate the suitability of a site for solar power development. Using normalised values, a brief comparison with other farms across the globe is made to assess the relative performance of the farm. The results show that its performance is satisfactory, with a weighted performance ratio of 0.70 compared to the global average of 0.70–0.80 for sufficiently well performing farms. However, the performance could be improved with improved operational monitoring of the farm. Additional performance parameters are assessed relative to the standard and the farms in other countries, such as capture and system losses, system efficiencies, and capacity factors, are above the thresholds for satisfactory performance. Measurements at the site show a high solar energy resource in the range of 4.0–7.2 kWh/m2/day. The results show that the area is suitable for grid connected photovoltaic systems.

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  • Mpholo, Moeketsi & Nchaba, Teboho & Monese, Molebatsi, 2015. "Yield and performance analysis of the first grid-connected solar farm at Moshoeshoe I International Airport, Lesotho," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 845-852.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:81:y:2015:i:c:p:845-852
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2015.04.001
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    6. Daher, Daha Hassan & Gaillard, Léon & Amara, Mohamed & Ménézo, Christophe, 2018. "Impact of tropical desert maritime climate on the performance of a PV grid-connected power plant," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 729-737.
    7. Kumar, Manish & Chandel, S.S. & Kumar, Arun, 2020. "Performance analysis of a 10 MWp utility scale grid-connected canal-top photovoltaic power plant under Indian climatic conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C).
    8. D’Isidoro, Massimo & Briganti, Gino & Vitali, Lina & Righini, Gaia & Adani, Mario & Guarnieri, Guido & Moretti, Lorenzo & Raliselo, Muso & Mahahabisa, Mabafokeng & Ciancarella, Luisella & Zanini, Gabr, 2020. "Estimation of solar and wind energy resources over Lesotho and their complementarity by means of WRF yearly simulation at high resolution," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 114-129.
    9. Saleheen, Mohammed Zeehan & Salema, Arshad Adam & Mominul Islam, Shah Mohammad & Sarimuthu, Charles R. & Hasan, Md Zobaer, 2021. "A target-oriented performance assessment and model development of a grid-connected solar PV (GCPV) system for a commercial building in Malaysia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 371-382.
    10. Kılkış, Birol & Kılkış, Şiir, 2017. "New exergy metrics for energy, environment, and economy nexus and optimum design model for nearly-zero exergy airport (nZEXAP) systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 140(P2), pages 1329-1349.
    11. Agustín Valverde Granja & Teófilo Miguel De Souza & Pedro Magalhães Sobrinho & Daniel Felipe Arévalo Santos, 2018. "Study of Power Quality at the Point of Common Coupling of a Low Voltage Grid and a Distributed Generation System of 7.8 kWp in a Tropical Region," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-19, June.
    12. Thamae, Leboli Z. & Thamae, Retselisitsoe I. & Thamae, Thimothy M., 2015. "Assessing a decade of regulatory performance for the Lesotho electricity industry," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 91-101.
    13. Edalati, Saeed & Ameri, Mehran & Iranmanesh, Masoud, 2015. "Comparative performance investigation of mono- and poly-crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules for use in grid-connected photovoltaic systems in dry climates," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 255-265.
    14. Sreenath, S. & Sudhakar, K. & Yusop, A.F., 2020. "Technical assessment of captive solar power plant: A case study of Senai airport, Malaysia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 849-866.
    15. Bouaichi, Abdellatif & El Amrani, Aumeur & Ouhadou, Malika & Lfakir, Aberrazak & Messaoudi, Choukri, 2020. "In-situ performance and degradation of three different photovoltaic module technologies installed in arid climate of Morocco," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).

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