Optimal Sizing of a Centralized Hybrid Photovoltaic System for Efficient Operation of Street Lights

Abstract

The photovoltaic energy generation system is one of the most promising technology to meet our future electricity demand as well as mitigate climate change. This study aims to design, simulate and evaluate the performance of hybrid photovoltaic (PV) system using PVsyst software to supply electricity for energy efficient streetlights in educational institute. Meteonorm database of daily and monthly irradiation, temperatures, precipitation and sunlight hours are utilized while performing the analysis. The photovoltaic system consists of 56 bifacial-polycrystalline 360-watt PV modules having 17.9% efficiency. The photovoltaic modules were installed at 0° azimuth angle and 15° tilt angle. Two hybrid inverters with rated capacity of 10 kW are used. The energy storage system consists of 16 batteries (2 in series x 8 in parallel) with a nominal capacity of 1600 ampere-hours and discharging minimum SOC is 20 %. A total of 100 streetlight poles with 8 working-hours/day are installed to cover both sides of the road, with monthly energy consumption of 672 kilowatt-hours. The average annual ambient temperature is 23.66℃, and the annual GH irradiation is 1693 kilowatt-hour/m². The annual production of the hybrid PV system is 25.96 MWh/year, the specific energy production of the system is 1288 kWh/kWp/year with 70.38% performance ratio. By means of proposed photovoltaic system for energy efficient street lightning structure, 157.9t CO₂ is reduced. The project can save 0.004737 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions over its lifetime of 30 years. The proposed system is a viable solution for public lighting with the right selection of system components.