REAL PROJECT PHOTOVOLTAIC PROJECT

07

VILLAGE ELECTRIFICATION / DAMASCUS, SYRIA
RESULTS
In March 1994, the Higher Institute of Applied Science & Technology (HIAST) in Syria
established a solar village project in Abou-Sorra, 35 km south of Damascus. Technical
support for the installation was provided by IT Power under a United Nations
Development Program (UNDP) project. This was the first solar village project
implemented in Syria. The photovoltaic (PV) project provides electric power to six
households of settled Bedouins. The 3.6 kW PV system replaced a diesel generator that
had previously provided electricity to the village.
The solar energy group at HIAST has been monitoring the system since 1996. Tests of the
PV system have shown good performance under the local conditions.
SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
The PV system consists of a solar array of 72 modules of 50 W
p
each. The modules were
supplied by BP Solar. The array is divided into five sub-arrays: one sub-array of 24
modules, two sub-arrays of 16 modules each and two sub-arrays of 8 modules each. The
total array area is 31.9 m
2
. All the sub-arrays are positioned in a fixed direction facing
south at a tilt angle of 45.
The battery bank consists of 24 dry charged, deep cycle cells of 2 V each. The cells are
connected in series to provide 48 V nominal storage voltage. The total capacity of the
battery bank is 1,101 Ah. The battery bank was replaced after 8 years of service in 2001.
The system uses two inverters of 1.2 kW each. The electricity is conveyed to the village
via a 700 m underground cable. Each house is equipped with a 2 A miniature circuit
breaker to avoid overloading the system. The output from the PV arrays is fed to a control
room consisting of two sections: one section contains a five-stage charge controller, data
logger and 6 kWh meters, while the other section houses the battery bank. The site also has
a solar water heating system used for providing hot water during winter months.
The small population and low load demand of the village does not justify an extension of
the main electric grid.



REAL PROJECT PHOTOVOLTAIC PROJECT
07

VILLAGE ELECTRIFICATION / DAMASCUS, SYRIA
LESSONS LEARNED
The PV power plant has proven to be a success in providing a reliable supply of electricity to the village.
The battery bank provided 8 years of service.
The low cost of diesel fuel in Syria makes it difficult to justify the PV system on financial grounds alone.
However, the environmental, noise, reliability and power availability benefits of the PV system make it an
attractive option compared to a diesel genset.
The reliability and availability of the electricity supply is an important consideration in comparing alternative
power sources. The Abou-Sorra example demonstrated that the PV system (with battery storage), which provides
power 24 h/day, is preferable to the diesel generator system that typically operated 8 h/day.
The successful implementation of this system holds strong promise for its replication in other rural electrification
applications elsewhere in Syria and other Middle Eastern countries.
THE BIG PICTURE
Stand-alone PV systems meeting the electricity needs of remote and rural communities offer an attractive alternative to
diesel mini-grids when compared against lengthy grid extensions and in situations where diesel prices and/or genset
maintenance costs are high.
When PV systems are designed and installed properly, they can provide a more reliable and environmentally benign
community energy source than diesel generation. Distributed PV power systems have a significant potential globally in
unelectrified and remote areas. The use of PV in such applications has been growing dramatically in recent years,
especially for individual home systems.
REFERENCES
Abed-El-Hadi Zein & Wala'A
Sarsar, Analysis of Solar
Photovoltaic-Powered Village
Electrification at Abou-Sorra in
Damascus Region, HIAST,
Syria, 1998.
Parthan, Binu K., Personal com-
munication, IT Power India,
2002.
















SPV VILLAGE ELECTRIFICATION PROJECT ABOU-SORRA, SYRIA
PHOTO CREDIT: BINU PARTHAN, IT POWER INDIA LTD.