Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1318e1330

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Renewable Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene

Energy and economic efficiency performance assessment of a 28 kWp

photovoltaic grid-connected system under desertic weather
conditions in Algerian Sahara
Nordine Sahouane*, Rachid Dabou, Abderrezzaq Ziane, Ammar Neçaibia,
Ahmed Bouraiou, Abdelkrim Rouabhia, Blal Mohammed
Unit

e de Recherche en Energies Renouvelables en Milieu Saharien URERMS, Centre de D

eveloppement des Energies Renouvelables CDER, 01000, Adrar,
Algeria

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In order to support the growth of grid-tied photovoltaic power plant implementation in the Saharan
Received 20 December 2018 environment. A detailed assessment analysis of 28 kWp photovoltaic (PV) system installed on the rooftop
Received in revised form of Research Unit for Renewable Energies in Saharan region (URER/MS), located in southern Algeria
14 April 2019
(Adrar), has been carried out and presented in this paper. The monitoring data of the PV system over 12
Accepted 19 May 2019
Available online 22 May 2019
months (March 2017 to February 2018), are used to evaluate both energy efficiency and the output power
losses. The collected experimental data reveal that the environmental parameters variation has a direct
effect on the performance of both the energy conversion efficiency and the system losses.
Keywords:
Grid-tied photovoltaic systems
From the monitoring data and the performance assessment, it was found that the highest final yield is
Performance evaluation 5.3 h/day while the irradiation and the ambient temperature are 518 W/m2 and 37.9 C
respectively. The
Energy efficiency annual production injected to the grid is 45.12 MWh, with 2.4 MWh energy losses are attributed to the
Yield grid voltage rise, 1.57 MWh energy is lost due to the array and thermal capture losses and system losses.
The yield values of maximum/minimum monthly average reference and array yield values were; 6.7/
5.4 h/day and 5.5/3.2 h/day respectively. The annual average PV module, inverter and system efficiencies
reached; 11.37%, 96.46% and 10.99%, respectively.
Some parameters of measured data; are used to calculate the harvested energy and performance ratio,
and then compared with other PV systems installation located in different geographical regions
worldwide. Finally, we have studied the impact of the grid voltage rise on the grid-connected photo-
voltaic system performance on both energetic and economical levels.
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction be satisfied: the productivity and the performance, the accurate

The integration of rooftop photovoltaic systems in the low-
voltage distribution grids has become a major international trend,
helped by the sinking prices for photovoltaics [1], The technical
challenges of integrating low power photovoltaic systems into the
low voltage grid have been clearly signaled and discussed in
Ref. [2]. The photovoltaic energy producers try to maximize their
profits by injecting as much energy as possible to the grid. For a
photovoltaic installation to be profitable, two major elements must
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: sahouane.nordine@urerms.dz, nordine.sahouane@yahoo.com
(N. Sahouane).
estimation of the PV system production is crucial for the future
evaluation of new PV plants.
Due to lower prices for PV technology, photovoltaic installations
<30kw on rooftops have become a major trend on the international
scene. In this context, several technical and organizational chal-
lenges are posed by the integration of decentralized energy into the
grid [3]. Among the most important factors that limit the extension
of photovoltaics, include the thermal capacity of grid equipment,
the disturbances of the distribution grid, the quality of energy, the
grid reliability and network protection, several solutions have been
proposed [4e7] like the reactive power provision of PV inverters
[7,8]. The implementation of voltage regulated distribution trans-
former [7,9,10]. The implementation of booster transformers [7]
and advanced voltage control at the high/medium voltage

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.05.086
0960-1481/© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 N. Sahouane et al. / Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1318e1330 1319

Nomenclature YR Reference yield, h/d

LC Array capture loss, h/d
GHI global horizontal irradiance, W/m2 LS System loss, h/d
Tamb Ambient Temperature in
C LT Thermal capture loss, h/d
TMod Module Temperature in
C LSD System disconnection loss, %
TSTC Ambient temperature at STC,
C hPV PV module efficiency, %
EAC AC energy output (daily) of inverter, kWh hSys System efficiency, %
EDC DC energy output (daily) of PV array, kWh hinv inverter efficiency, %
Ht Total in-plane solar irradiation, kWh/m2 PR Performance ratio, %
Htotal Solar insolation (kWh) CUF Capacity utilization factor, %
GSTC Solar irradiation under STC, 1 kW/m2 PPV, rate PV rate power, (kWp)
YA Array yield, h/d a Temperature factor of the PV module, %/
C
YF Final yield, h/d A PV array area, m2

substation (wide-area control) [2,7]. Cooperation Agency, KOICA).

The distribution grids are designed to transport electricity pro-
duced in one direction (from production to consumption). The PV
energy injection into the distribution grid is an intermittent and an
incontrollable, which can cause a reverse power flow (that is, in a
direction opposite to the conventional power flow), which involves
bidirectional operation. It is necessary to review the grid manage-
ment to guarantee a good performance and ensure security, sta-
bility, reliability and good quality of power.
The PV production management is a great challenge for the grid
operators, the relation between the PV system and the grid is
bidirectional: the impact of PV systems on grid performance and
the impact of grid on the performance of PV systems [11,12]. Several
studies have examined the impact of PV systems on the grid
[13e15]; However, so far little work has been done on the impact of
the grid on the performance of PV systems [11,12,16,17] and there is
a lack of data on these problems. This is why the focus of our paper
is to analyze the impact of the distribution system disturbance
(voltage rise) on a 28 kWp grid-connected photovoltaic system
installed at the URER/MS in the city of Adrar e south Algeria. We
will provide a comprehensive description and an evaluation one-
year performance of this system.
The increase of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems is
expected in Algeria, with an injection of 13.5 GW of PV power into
the grid by 2030 [2]. A number of PV grid systems for electricity
generation have been installed in many regions in Algeria. This
includes 23 photovoltaic plants implemented in regions of north-
ern and southern desert country [18]. This rate of PV systems
integration will create an important dynamic in the installation of
mini-systems PV (residential PV systems) injected into the low-
voltage power distribution grid; which will generate a high-
density power flow that causes a voltage rise on the power distri-
bution line [16,19e22].
For residential PV system owners, the economic viability of the
system an important factor which influences the adoption of PV
systems, is dependent on the annual energy yield which is affected
by distribution grid based factors such the voltage rise and point of
connection to grid. For this, this work study the impact of distri-
bution grid on the economical ratability of residential PV systems.
Finally, this work will enable the Algerian electricity distribution
company (SONALGAZ) to better understand this impact and adapt
its distribution grid so that it is more stable.
2. Location
This project is implemented in cooperation of Algeria (Direc-
torate General of Scientific Research and Technological Develop-
ment, DGRSDT, URER-MS) and South Korea (Korea International
The Adrar city is located in west part of the Algerian Sahara with
a latitude of 27.88
N, 0.27
E and an altitude of 262 m (Fig. 1-a
and b), it is characterized by a hot desert climate BWh according to
€ppen climate classification [23e25].
Ko
 Extreme hot and dry weather climate
 High ambient temperature in Summer (the maximum recorded
in 2017 is 49
)
 High solar irradiance potential
 Low humidity rate
 Large number of clear and semi-clear sky days
Frequent dust storm days.
Algeria has one of the largest solar fields in the world. Indeed,
following assessment by the satellites, the German Aerospace
Center (DLR) concluded that Algeria has the largest solar potential
in the Mediterranean basin: 169,440 TWh/year [26]. The average
sunshine duration over the quasi-totality of the national territory
exceeds 2000 h annually and may reach 3500 h in the Sahara [27].
(Fig. 2a, b and c, and Table 1).
The daily obtained energy on a horizontal surface of 1 m2 is
about 5 kWh over the major part of the national territory, or about
1700 kWh/m2/year for the North and 2650 kWh/m2/year for the
South of the country (Table 1) [27].
3. PV system and meteorological data
3.1. System description
The architecture of a grid-connected PV system is composed of a
PV generator that produces the continuous power (PDC) from the
panels depending on the environment parameters (sunshine and
temperature) [24,30,31] and an inverter that ensure the extracting
of the maximum power from the PV generator to convert it into AC
power (PAC) [32]. This power is then injected on the public grid.
The photovoltaic system of 28 kWp has 112 solar modules
Mono-Crystalline (BJP-250SA with a power of 250 W), each 14
modules are connected in series to form a string. Three arrays (PV1
Array, PV2 Array and PV3 Array) are assembled in parallel to form
the whole PV system. The PV1 Array and PV2 Array which are
composed of 3 strings each one connected in series which produces
10.5 kW each one, and PV3 Array is less than the others, is con-
sisting of 2 strings connected in series which produces 7 kW (see
Fig. 3).
Each Array is connected to a 11 kW three-phase inverter of type
SMA SMC 11000TLRP-10, these inverters are used to convert the DC
current to AC 230e240 V, 50 Hz. The specifications of the PV
1320 N. Sahouane et al. / Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1318e1330

Fig. 1. Location of PV system.

module and the inverter are given in Table 2 and Table 3 amplitude become slightly higher than that of grid to insure the
respectively. current flow from inverter to the grid [36].
The solar modules are mounted on metal frames supported by Fig. 5 illustrates the response results of the grid-connected in-
fixed concrete pillars at a 27
angle to the south (Fig. 1.D). verter's overvoltage protection function.
Fig. 5 a. shows that when the grid voltage exceeds the value
3.2. Meteorological data 240 V, the inverter cuts off the injection to the grid and the output
power becomes zero (Fig. 5 b and c). The injection is resumed when
The Sunny SensorBox is installed outdoors at the solar gener- the grid voltage decrease below threshold value 240 V.
ator, and comes with an integrated reference solar cell, which
measures solar irradiation. The temperature sensor placed below 4. Monitoring System Diagram
solar module measures the module temperature (Tmod), the
ambient temperature (Tamb) was recorded using laboratory ther- An SMA data logger (Sunny WebBox) collects and records the
mometer at 5 min interval during the monitored period. All data are input voltage, output voltage, current of the inverter (DC/AC), solar
shown in Table 4. radiation, ambient and module temperature. This device is an
embedded Web server that allows local data storage; it is easily
3.3. Integration of PV power on the grid accessible via internet or local network. Each 5 min, the data are
saved in CSV files. The schematic device is shown in Fig. 6.
Alternating current of 220e230 V and 50 Hz is the output of the
inverter, and injected into the public grid. A protection system is set
5. Performance PV systems evaluation methodology
up inside the inverters to disconnect the PV system from the grid in
the event of system failure, rise/low voltage, frequency instability
To evaluate the efficiency of photovoltaic system based on the
and the blackout of the grid (Fig. 4).
performance parameters, an analysis process of the photovoltaic
The intensive grid connection provokes grid disturbance, the
systems performances that is given by the Photovoltaic Power
voltage may exceed the tolerance limit at the point of common
Systems Standard Norme (IEC 61724) of International Energy
coupling (PCC) [16,33], which is 220 ± 20 V in a single-phase low-
Agency (IEA) have been used [37,38]:
voltage grid in Algeria. To deal with grid overvoltage, the PV sys-
tems inverters have a grid overvoltage protection function [34,35].
- Efficiency of PV array (hPV), Inverter (hinv) and system (hsys).
The inverter type that used in this work (SMA SMC 11000TLRP-10)
- Yields of PV array (YA), reference (YR) and final (YF).
has an overvoltage protection function. When the AC voltage (of the
- Array capture Losses (LC), system losses (LS), thermal capture
grid) exceeds the protection range (higher/lower voltage), this
losses (LT), Performance Rate (PR) and Capacity utilization factor
protection function is activated to adjust the inverter output
(CUF).
voltage.
Inside the inverter, there are two types of controls; one that
The expressions of hPV , hinv , hsys , YA , YR , YF , PR, LC , LS and LT are
controls the active power and other one controls the reactive po-
presented as below [37].
wer. The control will the output coupling start and stop, when the
voltage at the output of the inverter becomes higher or lower than  
EDC
the two-threshold voltages. hPV ¼  100% (1)
Ht *A
Generally, the voltage regulation is used to control the output
voltage (amplitude, frequency … etc.) of the inverter, so that the
 N. Sahouane et al. / Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1318e1330 1321

Fig. 2. Solar potential in Algeria from 1994 to 2015 [28].

Table 1
Solar potential Algeria [29].

Regions Coastal Region High Plains Sahara Total

Surface (%) 4 10 86 100

Area (km2) 95 270 238 174 2 048 297 2 381 741
Mean daily sunshine duration (h) 7.26 8.22 9.59 e
Average Sunshine duration (h/year) 2650 3000 3500 e
Received average energy (kWh/m2/year) 1700 1900 2650 e
Solar daily energy density (kWh/m2) 4.66 5.21 7.26 e
Potential daily energy (TWh) 443.96 1240.89 14 870.63 16 555.48

 
EAC EDC
hinv ¼  100% (2) YA ¼ (4)
EDc PPV:rated

 
EAC Ht
hsys ¼  100% (3) YR ¼ (5)
Ht *A GSTC
1322 N. Sahouane et al. / Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1318e1330

Fig. 3. Description of PV system located in the URER. MS, Algeria.

YF
PR ¼ (7)
YR
EAC
YF ¼ (6)
PPV:rated LC ¼ YR  YA (8)

LS ¼ YA  YF (9)

Table 2
PV module specification.
LT ¼ YR aðTmod  TSTC Þ (10)

PV Module
EAC
Parameter Specification CUF ¼  100 (11)
PPV;rate *24*365
Type of module Mono-Crystalline
Rated Power at STC (Pmax) 250 W
Max. Power Voltage (Vmp) 30.75 V HTotal ¼ Ht *A (12)
Max. Power Current (Imp) 8.131 A
Open Circuit Voltage (Voc) 36.99 V With: A ¼ 183 m is area of PV array and a is the temperature
2
Short Circuit Current (Isc) 8.768 A factor of the PV module.
Efficiency 15.3%
Dimension (m3) 0.990*1.65*0.040 m
Weight 19.5 kg 6. Assessment and discussion
Operation Temperature - 40 to þ 90
Temperature Coefficient Power (%/
C) 0.416%/
C The performance of the 28 kWp PV grid-connected system have
been monitored over one year (from March 2017 to February 2018).
In this study, we calculated the losses due to the PV system
Table 3 disconnection (LSD) (due to the overvoltage), compared to the real
SMA SMC 11000TLRP-10 Inverter specification.
operating time of each day.
Inverter The daily data was measured from sunrise to sunset for an in-
Parameters Specification terval of 5 min. The results in Table 4, shows that in 12 months
Input (DC) (March 2017 to February 2018); the maximum of ambient and
Max. DC Power 11400 W module temperature is recorded in July 2017 with 42.2
C and
Max. input voltage 700 V 51.6
C respectively, and the minimum is recorded in February 2018
Mpp voltage range 333 Ve500 V/350 V
Max. input voltage 333 V/400 V
with 16.9
C and 23.5
C respectively. The annual average solar
Max. input current 34 A irradiation is 6.23 kWh/m2 with maximum 6.74 kWh/m2 is recor-
Output (AC) ded in August 2017 and a minimum of 5.37 kWh/m2 in February
Rated power (230 V,50hz) 11000VA 2018 (Fig. 7).
Max. apparent AC power 11000VA
From November to March of the monitoring period, the tem-
Nominal AC Voltage/range 220 V,230 V,240 V/180 Ve265 V
AC power frequency/range 50 Hz, 60 Hz/-6 Hz … þ5 Hz peratures in the Adrar region change suddenly every day, which
Rated grid frequency/rated grid voltage 50 Hz/230 Hz generates a peak or a minimum of electricity consumption
Max. output current 48 A depending on the case that can make the grid unstable with high or
Efficiency low voltage and causes a PV system disconnection. (Fig. 8).
Max. efficiency/European Efficiency 97.7%/97.2%
From April to June 2017, the Adrar city was hit by a sandstorm
 N. Sahouane et al. / Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1318e1330 1323

Table 4 system losses (LS) and thermal capture losses (LT) Fig. 11.
Monthly average meteorological data, 1 year average (March 2017 to February 2018). The sunshine period during the study is 4244 h (Fig. 10). Un-
Tamb Tmod GHI Ht Htotal fortunately, 226 h corresponding of energy production equivalent
(
C) W/m2 kWh/m2 kWh
to 2.4 MWh (Fig. 12) are lost due to the overvoltage that represents
LSD ¼ 5.32% of total energy production.
Mar. 2017 17.1 35.7 525.2 6.60 37454
The temperature begins to have an effect on the PV system
Apr. 2017 31.3 39.6 496.1 6.51 35761
May. 2017 37.9 46.8 518.7 6.69 37991 performance in summer (May to September) with a maximum in
Jun. 2017 39.5 49.3 481,4 6.25 34347 July LT ¼ 0.73%. Fig. 11 shows the monthly average energy losses and
Jul. 2017 42.2 51.6 505.0 6.56 37239 the module temperature over the monitored period.
Aug. 2017 40.9 50.7 534.7 6.74 38253
The minimum and maximum EDC production are recorded in
Sep.2017 37.2 46.4 484.9 6.30 34621
Oct. 2017 29.3 38.4 501.4 6.48 36754 November (2.71 MWh) and May (4.76 MWh) respectively. The
Nov.2017 25.8 35.5 472.7 6.02 33066 minimum monthly average insolation was received a February
Dec. 2017 17.1 23.6 457.6 5.59 31753 2018 (27.51 MWh), and the maximum was recorded in August 2017
Jan. 2018 18.4 27.6 491.2 5.66 32154 (38.25 MWh) Fig. 13.
Feb. 2018 16.9 23.5 442.1 5.37 27515
During the period from November 2017 to February 2018, the PV
Year 29.4 39.1 492.5 6.23 34742
system received the lowest values of solar insolation due to the
present of sandstorm and clouds for important number of days in
this period (Fig. 13).
for 10 days and 7 cloudy days. Fig. 9 shows some examples of these
It can be seen from Table 4 that each season has its own
days; a sandstorm (25/06/2017), a cloudy day (23/09/2017) and the
metrological characteristic, which are; a low solar irradiation and
day of 22/04/2017 which was both at the same time cloudy and a
ambient temperature in winter, a moderate radiation and ambient
sandstorm; this had a direct impact on the average monthly solar
temperature in spring, a high solar radiation intensity with extreme
irradiation.
ambient temperature in summer, intermittent solar radiation due
These results shows that the module temperature does not
to occasional sandstorm with moderate ambient temperature in
depend only on the ambient temperature and the solar irradiation,
autumn [18,42]. The results in Table 5 allow us to better understand
but other factors can influence it, for example, the sandstorms,
the relationship between the analyzed performance indices such
defects in PV module, dust accumulation, the partial shading
as; harvested energy, and final yield.
[39e41] etc. these factors have also an important impact to the
Due to the absence of a large electrical loads such as air condi-
electrical behavior of the module.
tioners, the energy consumption decreases in the Adrar city be-
tween October and April, which justifies the increase of grid voltage
6.1. Analysis of output power and therefor the energy losses, the maximum energy losses of
401 kWh (15.35%) was recorded on November.
During March 2017 to February 2018, the monthly total energy In Algeria, the weekend is Friday and Saturday, during this
production and the overvoltage energy losses are summarized in period most of the administrations and industrial are closed, which
Fig. 12 and Fig. 13. The total energy production had reached reduces the electricity demand and increases the grid voltage.
46.6935 MWh, only 45.1196 MWh were injected into the grid and Fig. 14 shows the total output energy loss due to high grid voltage
1.5739 MWh of lost energy due to the Array capture losses (LC), during the weekend, from Thursday, November 2, 2017 to

Fig. 4. Grid-connected photovoltaic system a flow diagram.

1324 N. Sahouane et al. / Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1318e1330

Fig. 5. Response results of the inverter's overvoltage protection function.

Fig. 6. Monitoring System Diagram.

Wednesday, November 8, 2017.
The annual average final yield (YF) was 4.4 h/day, with a mini-
mum (3.1 h/day) is recorded in November due to lowest energy
produced during this month and a maximum (5.3 h/day) was
recorded in May 2017 (Fig. 15). The annual average final yield of the
present study is higher than of Mauritania, India (Bhubaneswar),
Thailand, and almost the same final yield with Morocco, India
(Tamilnadu) and lower than South Africa and Oman (See Table 6).
The results indicate that the array and final yield have the same
variation over the monitored period. Those results can be explained
by the fact that they both are proportional to solar radiance; the
minimum and maximum monthly average array yield were recor-
ded in November and May 3.2 h/day, 5.5 h/day respectively.
The climate in ADRAR is characterized by hot and dry seasons
[23e25]. The collected data for one year are classed by seasons to
facilitate the evaluation the performance of PV Grid-connected
 N. Sahouane et al. / Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1318e1330 1325

Fig. 7. Average daily irradiance, monthly average ambient and module temperature. Fig. 9. Daily variation of irradiance in different days.

Fig. 10. Monthly sunshine duration and lost time.

Fig. 8. Relation between PV system disconnections and ambient temperature with

15e30 November 2017.

system installed in this region [18].

The results in Table 7 show the seasonally average energy
generated, reference yield, array yield and final yield, which allow
us to better understand the different relationships that exist be-
tween some performance indices.
Due to the high value of the final yield and the low system
disconnection losses (Table 9), the maximum value of energy pro-
duction was recorded in the summer. On the other hand, the high
presence of frequent grid disconnections generates important los-
ses in the system production, which the worst values have been
registered in the autumn.
Table 8 shows the seasonally average solar irradiation, ambient
temperature, module temperature, PV module efficiency, system
efficiency and inverter efficiency. A minimum of irradiation,
ambient and modules temperature were recorded in winter, which
present a low temperature losses and maximum of PV module and Fig. 11. Monthly average Energy losses and module temperature over the monitored
system efficiencies. The summer season is characterized by strong period.
1326 N. Sahouane et al. / Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1318e1330

sandstorms [18,42].
The lowest PV Array and system efficiencies of 09.56% and
09.21% respectively were observed in autumn, this is due to the
high system disconnection losses and capture losses (Table 8). The
best PV array and system efficiencies has been recorded in winter
(12.40% and 11.96% respectively), this is due to the lower PV module
temperature 24.9
C which is so close to the STC temperature. The
inverter efficiency is almost stable during the whole seasons.
The disturbances recorded in the Adrar grid (overvoltage) in
spring, autumn and winter, lead to the abrupt shutdown and restart
of the inverter, resulting in high system disconnection losses
(5.84%, 9.68% and 6.13% respectively). These losses have a direct
impact on the energy production by the photovoltaic system
(Table 7).

6.2. Performance ratio and module efficiency

Fig. 12. Monthly energy production and output energy losses due to the overvoltage.
The Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) and Performance Ratio
(PR) allow an evaluation of the PV system performance. The CUF
mainly dependent on GHI of the location of the PV system, whereas
the PR is a measure of the quality of PV systems independent of its
location [23]. These parameters vary with weather condition of the
location.
The Performance Ratio and Capacity Utilization Factor are re-
ported in Fig. 16. The climate of Adrar is divide in two periods, from
May to September with very high temperatures, a dry climate and
very long days, and from October to April with short and cold days.

Fig. 13. Monthly average DC and AC energy, solar irradiance and the insolation of each
month.

solar irradiation, very high ambient and module temperatures,

which cause the increase of the thermal capture losses (see Table 9).
In the autumn and a spring, the Adrar region is characterized by an
Fig. 14. Total daily output energy losses due to the high grid voltage with the week
irradiation and ambient temperature unstable with intermittent
from Thursday, November 2, 2017 to Wednesday, November 8, 2017.

Table 5
Monthly average performance parameters over the monitored period, 1 year average (March 2017 to February 2018).

EDC EAC YR YA YF LC LS LT hpv hsys hinv PR CUF LSD

kWh (h/day) (%)

Mar. 2017 4215.3 4070.3 6.7 4.8 4.6 1.92 0.16 0.30 11.13 10.74 96.45 70.21 19.54 07.79
Apr. 2017 3799.3 3664.5 6.5 4.5 4.4 1.95 0.16 0.44 10.13 09.76 96.29 63.82 18.18 09.03
May. 2017 4759.2 4616.6 6.7 5.5 5.3 1.21 0.16 0.61 12.60 12.22 96.97 80.35 22.17 00.69
Jun. 2017 4423.7 4288.1 6.2 5.2 5.1 1.00 0.16 0.63 13.00 12.61 96.89 82.41 21.27 00.00
Jul. 2017 4451.9 4318.0 6.6 5.1 5.0 1.43 0.15 0.73 12.00 11.64 96.90 76.06 20.73 00.00
Aug. 2017 4052.0 3924.7 6.4 4.8 4.7 1.54 0.15 0.67 11.72 11.36 96.86 74.23 19.58 00.00
Sep.2017 4026.4 3896.3 6.2 4.8 4.7 1.35 0.15 0.53 12.43 12.03 96.62 78.63 19.85 00.95
Oct. 2017 3054.9 2933.0 6.3 3.5 3.3 2.83 0.14 0.35 08.27 07.94 95.66 51.89 14.08 12.75
Nov.2017 2706.3 2595.0 6.2 3.2 3.1 2.94 0.13 0.29 08.00 07.68 95.70 50.29 13.44 15.35
Dec 2017 3644.0 3522.7 5.6 4.2 4.0 1.41 0.13 0.04 11.65 11.25 96.51 73.47 16.77 08.40
Jan 2018 4118.3 3980.1 5.6 4.7 4.6 0.88 0.15 0.08 12.97 12.53 96.61 82.22 19.71 02.96
Feb 2018 3442.2 3310.3 5.4 4.4 4.2 0.98 0.16 0.02 12.59 12.10 96.09 79.12 17.59 07.02
Year 46693 45119 6.2 4.5 4.4 1.62 0.15 0.38 11.37 10.99 96.46 71.89 18.58 05.32
 N. Sahouane et al. / Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1318e1330 1327

performance. The results demonstrate that PV array and system

efficiencies attained their maximum values in January 12.97% and
12.53% respectively. The higher average PV array and system effi-
ciency during this monthly is mainly due to the lower PV module
temperature 27.6
C that is so close to the STC temperature. The
sandstorms effect manifest in significant efficiency drop during
March and April.
The lowest values of efficiency were recorded in October and
November, which can be explained by the grid disconnection, On
the other hand, the July and August are characterized by high
radiance but the efficiency are dropped due to high temperature.

6.3. Economical result

The guaranteed purchase tariffs in Algeria for electricity pro-

Fig. 15. Monthly average yield variation of reference, array and final yield.
The annual average value of CUF of the 28 kWp PV system is
approximately 18.58%. The maximum monthly average is obtained
in May 2017 (22.17%), whereas the minimum monthly average
value is recorded for November 2017 (13.44%). The highest monthly
average performance ratio is recorded in January (82.22%) and a
minimum in November (50.29%), this is due to reduced power
output during this period.
Fig. 17 shows monthly variation in PV array, inverter and system
efficiencies for an operating period of one year, the inverter effi-
ciency is almost constant throughout the whole year, which sig-
nifies that the climatic conditions have no impact on the inverter
duced from photovoltaic solar installations and the conditions of
their application have been fixed by a ministerial decree published
in the Algerian official journal (OJ No 23 of 23 April 2014). These
tariffs are fixed for each generation capacity and depending on the
solar potential. The solar potential is expressed in the number of
hours of operation at full load of the installation per year. The
selling prices are fixed at 0.12 Euro/kWh (15.94 Algerian Dinar/
kWh) for a number of hours > 1725 h. The electricity purchase price
is subsidized by the Algerian state and the price is 0.03 euro/kWh
excluding tax (4179 DA/kWh).
The energy consumption of the URER/MS (March 2017 to
February 2018) is 257.88 MWh. The annual production of the PV
systems injected in the grid (March 2017 to February 2018) is
45.12 MWh, whose 2.4 MWh of the lost due to the rise grid voltage
(LSD) and 1.57 MWh of lost energy due the Array capture losses (LC),
system losses (LS) and thermal capture losses (LT) (Table 10).
The purchase of electricity by the URER/MS is 0.03 Euro/kWh
(4179 DA/kWh), and the electricity sold by the URER/MS is 0.12
Euro/kWh (15.94 DA/kWh), this allowed URER/MS to reduce the

Table 6
Performance parameter of PV systems installed in different locations.

Location Test period (Month) PV type System size (kWp) YF (h/day) PR (%) Reference

Mae Hong Son, Thailand 02 e 500 2.91e3.98 70.00 [43]

Eastern Cape, South Africa 12 P-Si 3.2 4.9 64.3 [44]
Kumasi, Ghana 12 mc-Si 4 e 67.9 [45]
Sohar, Oman 12 P-Si 1.4 5.14 84.6 [46]
Casablanca, Morocco 12 mc-Si 2.04 4.53 76.7 [47]
Bhubaneswar,India 12 P-Si 11.2 3.67 78.00 [48]
Nouakchott, Mauritania 12 a-Si/ma-Si 954.7 4.27 67.96 [49]
Tamilnadu, India 06 mc-Si 80 4.45 83.2 [50]
Adrar, Algeria 12 mc-Si 28 4.42 71.9 Present study

Table 7
Seasonally average energy generated, reference yield, array yield and final yield.

Months Energy generated DC (MWh) Energy generated AC (MWh) Reference yield (h/Day) Array yield (h/Day) Final yield (h/Day)

Spring 12.78 12.35 6.63 4.93 4.76

Summer 12.92 12.53 6.40 5.03 4.93
Autumn 09.79 09.42 6.23 3.83 3.70
Winter 11.20 10.81 5.53 4.43 4.26

Table 8
Seasonally average solar irradiation, ambient temperature, module temperature, PV module efficiency, system efficiency and inverter efficiency.

Months Solar Irradiation (kWh/m2) Ambient Temperature (C
) PV module Temperature (C
) PV array Efficiency (%) Inverter Efficiency (%) System Efficiency (%)

Spring 6.60 28.76 40.7 11.26 96.57 10.90

Summer 6.51 40.86 50.53 12.24 96.88 11.87
Autumn 6.26 30.76 40.10 09.56 95.99 09.21
Winter 5.54 17.46 24.9 12.40 96.40 11.96
1328 N. Sahouane et al. / Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1318e1330

Table 9
Seasonally average capture losses, system losses, PV module temperature losses, capacity factor and performance ratio.

Season Capture Losses (h/day) System Losses (h/day) Thermal capture Losses (h/day) System disconnection Losses (%) Capacitor Factor (%) Performance Ratio (%)

Spring 1.69 0.16 0.45 5.84 19.96 71.46

Summer 1.32 0.15 0.68 0.00 20.52 77.56
Autumn 2.37 0.14 0.39 9.68 15.79 60.27
Winter 1.09 0.15 0.00 6.13 18.02 78.27

Table 10
The electricity bill sold and purchased by URER/MS.

March 2017 to February Energy Unitary Price (Euro/ Total price

2018 (MWh) KWh) (Euro)

Consumption 257.88 0.03 7736.4

Production 45.12 0.12 5414.4
Losses 3.97 0.12 476.4

(LT) and a rise grid voltage on the energy and economic perfor-
mance of PV system. The main results of this study could be sum-
marized as follow:

1) The losses due to rise grid voltage are very important (2.4 MWh)
compared to other losses (1.57 MWh) and they are frequent
during October to April.
2) Despite the various losses, we find that financially the total gain
in electricity generated from the PV system (sold) represents a
very important part (70%) of the consumption of URER/MS,
because in Algeria the electricity prices are subsidized.
Fig. 16. Monthly average of CUF and PR.
3) The temperature have an effect on the PV system performance,
with a maximum of ambient and module temperature is
deficit between energy sold (5414.4 Euro) and purchased (7736.4 recorded in July 2017 with 42.2
C and 51.6
C respectively, and a
Euro) (See Fig. 18). minimum is recorded for February 2018 with 16.9
C and 23.5
C
respectively.
7. Conclusions 4) The monthly average Array capture losses and thermal capture
losses varied from 0.88 h/d to 2.94 h/d and 0.04 h/d to 0.73 h/
In this study, we have conducted a performance analysis of a d respectively.
28 kWp grid-tied PV system installed on the rooftop of a Research 8) The annual average final yield of the present analyzed system
Unit in Renewable Energy, URERMS, located in the Algerian desert. has been found about 4.4 h/d and the annual average perfor-
The results of this work show the impact of different meteoro- mance ratio (PR) was found to be 71.89%.
logical parameters on the PV system performance and the impact of
lost energy due the Array capture (LC), system (LS), thermal capture Mainly a focus assessment the impacts of distribution grid on
the annual energy efficiency of PV systems have been realized, in
order to expose the interaction between the distribution grid and
the PV systems.

Fig. 17. Monthly average of PV module, System and Inverter efficiency. Fig. 18. The electricity bill sold and purchased by URER/MS.
 N. Sahouane et al. / Renewable Energy 143 (2019) 1318e1330
In the future and with the new Algerian energy policy, the dis-
tribution grid will receive much higher quantities of photovoltaic
production.
Following on the results of this study, there is a high probability
that the distribution system voltage will increase above allowable
limits, which could affect the PV system performance, resulting a
reduced energy efficiency that would reduce the viability of the PV
systems. This could be an additional financial risk for consumers
and does not take into consideration when investing in PV.
To allow a good integration of PV plants in the distribution grid
of the Adrar city, we recommend to Algerian Electricity Distribution
Company to adapt the distribution grid so that it accepts other
forms of intermittent energies and put in place adequate measures
for active voltage control and good demand management to rein-
force the distribution grid.
To better understand the impact of PV systems on the Adrar
distribution grid, further studies on the impact of large PV plants on
this grid need to be carried out.
Acknowledgements
The authors are very grateful to the Directorate General for
Scientific Research and Technological Development, Unite
de
Recherche en Energies Renouvelables en Milieu Saharien/Centre de
De
veloppement des Energies Renouvelables (Algeria) and Korean
International Cooperation Agency (South Korea) to have provided
the necessary funding and support to realize this project.
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