| dc.description.abstract | The demand for electrical energy in Madagascar has been on the increase since the country got
its independence. This increase in power consumption has been due to population increase and
national economic growth. The increase in demand without a matching increase in generation
has resulted in perennial electrical power shortfall necessitating the JIRAMA, the National
Electricity and Water Utility to resort to expensive fossil fuels for electrical power generation.
This electricity shortfall has affected the industrial growth. If the problem is not addressed,
future national growth projections may not be met. This research therefore, sought to explore
available methods so as to develop a renewable method to mitigate electrical power generation
shortage in the country using grid-connected SPV electricity generation.
First of all, the main components in a grid connected SPV system are described. After that,
climatic data at the site and several parameters such as available area, topography,
environmental and social considerations, accessibility, grid connection, module soiling, water
availability are assessed in order to identify the favourable location for the installation of the
PV system. The site selected is in the location of Ambodiriana - Ambatolampy which meets all
the requirements for the installation of a grid connected SPV system. Next, the design
parameters such as mounting structure, module orientation, inter-row spacing are also
evaluated. PVsyst is used as the simulation software to design, evaluate and to carry out a
financial analysis of the designed photovoltaic system. Then, the system wiring, sizing of cables
as well as the selection of fuses and circuit breakers suitable for installation are outlined. And
finally, the maintenance and troubleshooting for the grid connected photovoltaic system are
presented.
The main results obtained for the design of 20kWp grid connected SPV system are: for optimum
production, 92 PV modules (Suntech STP 240-20/Wd) and one central inverter (SMA, Sunny
tripower 20000TLEE-JP) is needed. The annual energy produced by the SPV system is equal
to 34,20 MWh/year with a LCOE of 486Ariary/kWh and payback time of 11.02 years which is
less than the SPV system lifetime that makes the project profitable. The evaluation parameters
for the designed SPV system are 79,73% of PR, 20.29% of CF and annual Yieldsp of 1549
kWh/kWp/year | en_US |
