Performance and Economic Study of

Interconnected PV System with Electric

Utility Accompanied with Battery Storage

Faculty of Engineering, Elminia University,

Elminia, Egypt
1
 Object of this paper
This paper presents a complete study from economic and
reliability point of view to determine the impact of
interconnecting PVPS with electric utility, EU taking into
consideration battery storage, BS, all radiation and variation of
the load demand during the day. Three different configurations of
PVPS have been investigated. The first PVPS is stand-alone
PVPS accompanied with BS. The second PVPS is PVPS
interconnected with EU without BS. Grid-connected PVPS
accompanied with BS represents the third alternative.
2
A comparative study between these three different configurations
has been carried out from economic and reliability points of view
with the main goal of selecting suitable one, to be installed at
Zafarâna site to feed the load requirement. A simulation is carried
out over one year using the hourly data of the load demand,
insolation and temperature at Zafarâna site, Egypt as a case study.
System Configuration
The electrical power generated and terminal voltage of PV module
depends on solar radiation and ambient temperature. The
equivalent electrical circuit describing the solar cells array used in
the analysis is shown in Fig. 1.

3
 Fig.1 Equivalent circuit of PV solar cells array.

The mathematical equation describing the I-V

characteristics of a PV solar cells array is given by:

4
 (
  q V(t) + I(t)* Rs
I(t) = I ph(t)− I ( t ) exp
)  − 1 − V(t) + I(t) * R s
o   A K T(t)  
    R
sh

where, I(t)- is the output current, Amp, V(t) is the output voltage,
Volt, A is the ideality factor for p-n junction, T(t) is the
temperature, Kelvin, K is the Boltzman's constant in Joules per
Kelvin, and, q is the charge of the electron in Coulombs. Rsh is
the internal shunt resistance, and Rs is the series resistance.
Io(t) : The hourly reverse saturation current, Amp. This current
varies with temperature as follows:

(
I ( t ) = I or T(t)/T
o r
) 3 exp  q * E go /K I (1/T r − 1/T ) 
5
Iph(t) : The hourly generated current of solar cells module. This
current varies with temperature according to the following equation:

I ( t ) = (I + K (T( t ) − 298)) * H ( t ) / 100

ph sc I T

where, Tr is the reference temperature, oK, Ego is the band-gap

energy of the semiconductor used in solar cell array, KI is the
short circuit current temperature coefficient, and, Ior is the
saturation current at Tr, Amp. (t) is the average hourly
radiation on the tilted surface, kW/m2. Isc is the PV cell short-
circuit current at 25o C and 100 mW/cm2.
The output of the solar cell module can be calculated by the
following equation:
6
P ( t ) = V ( t ) * I( t )
pv, out

7
 Calculation of Optimum Number of PV Modules

The energy balance between the load and the output of PV system must be
carried out to compute the optimum number of PV modules, Npv. The
output power from PV system must satisfy the load power demand. The
hourly generated power, Ppv,out(t), and hourly load power, PLoad(t), are
compared with each other. If Ppv,out(t) is larger than the load power
demand then there is an hourly surplus power, but if Ppv,out(t) is smaller
than the load power demand then there is an hourly deficit power. At any
value of Npv, if the summation of hourly surplus power equals to the
summation of hourly deficit power then this value of Npv represents the
optimum number of PV modules. The following equations have been used to
get the optimum number of PV modules [7].
8
 t =8760
IF ∑ [N * P (t) − P ( t )] > 0
pv pv,out Load
t =1
Then, number of PV modules must be decreased by one module
and repeating the foregoing process[7]:

t =8760
IF ∑ [N *P (t) − P ( t )] < 0
pv pv,out Load
t =1
Then, number PV modules must be increased by one module
and repeating the foregoing process.
t =8760
IF ∑ [N * Ppv,out ( t ) − P ( t )] ≅0
pv Load
t =1

9
 Then, Npv is the optimum number of PV modules satisfies the
energy balance condition.
2-2 Sizing of BS
The size of battery bank in a stand-alone PVPS, PVPS
interconnected with EU accompanied with or without BS is
dependent on three main factors [8], [9]:-
• The number of hours that the battery bank should provide the
critical load without input from PV system or EU.
• The depth of discharge of the battery strongly depends on the
applications, and can vary from a few percent to as much as
80%. i.e. the energy can be taken from BS equal to 80% of its
charge.
• The total ampere of the critical load current.

10
 For stand-alone PVPS, the battery storage capacity can be
found as follows:

BS = ( Max (Surplus) − Min (deficit ) ) /(η * ξ)

PV bat
For PVPS interconnected with EU, the size of battery bank can
be expressed by the following Equation:

BS =P * Tcri/(η * ξ)
EU
Where;
L, critical bat
PL,critical : The maximum critical load in the period Tcri. Tcri:
The number of hours that the battery bank should provide the
critical load without input from PV system or EU. ξ:The depth
of discharge of the battery in percent. ηbat: The efficiency of
BS.
11
 Calculation of Energy Cost Figure
The major concern in the design of an electric power system that
utilizes renewable energy sources is the accurate selection of
system components that can economically satisfy the load
demand. The system's components are found subject to [10]:
1. Minimize the cost of electricity production ($/kWh).
2- Ensure that the load is served according to a certain reliability
criteria.
3- Minimize the power purchased from the grid.

To evaluate the economics of the PV system, a Life Cycle Cost,

LCC methodology has been applied to obtain the ECF over life
span of PV system.
12
 The ECF is derived as the ratio of annual payment and annual
energy output of PVPS and it can be written as follows:

ECF = AP / Energy output of PVPS

•Calculation of Reliability

Reliability issue has been considered as an important step in any

system design process. Generally, reliability is defined as the
probability that an item of power system component will perform
its specified function without failure for a specific period of time or
number of cycles [12].

13
Figure 2-a represents the layout block diagram of
PV/EU accompanied with BS, while Fig. 2-b shows
the reliability block diagram of grid-connected PVPS
system accompanied with BS. From Fig. 2-a and Fig.
2-b the reliability of each configuration under study
can be calculated as follows:

14
 o a d
J
I

E
A

F
B

H
M
K

15
L
V

EU
Radiation R
(I )
y
z
a

h
d
G

t
b

Subsystem (1) Control Unit

C.B. (B)
(C)
C.B.
C.B. (E) C.B. C.B.
(J ) (K ) C.B. (N)
0.4/11
(M)
V olatge T.L . (L )
Distribution

o a d
Regulator
In(V
ve)rter (D)
Panal (H)

L
Trans..
Trans..
(F)
Subsystem (1) (O)
(S)

I n te r f a c e
U ti l i ty

b : System Reliability Block

PV array (A )

PVPS/EU accompanied

accompanied with BS.

Diagram of PVPS/EU
a : Block Diagram of
C.B. (e)
C.B. (c) C.B. (f)
C.B. (h)

S w i tc h
P o w e r
C.B. (a)
T.L . (d)

y
Generation
Station (G) Trans..
Trans..
Trans..

with BS.
(g)
(t)
(b)

Fig. 2
11/132 132/66
 •Reliability of Stand-alone PVPS.

From Fig. 2-a & Fig. 2-b the reliability of PVPS accompanied with
BS can be calculated as follows:-

R
PV / BS
[
= 1 −(1 −R )(1 −R ) R
1 2 3
]

16
Where;
R1=RI RA RB , R2=RI RA RB RV RS , R3= RC RD RE RF RJ
RK RL RM RN RO RH,
RI : Reliability of the Irradiance= Probability(I ≥ Imin), RA :
Reliability of the PVPS array, RB : Reliability of circuit breaker=
RE=RJ= RK= RM=RN= Ra= Rc= Re= Rf= Rh , RV : Reliability
of the Regulator, RS : Reliability of the Battery storage, RC :
Reliability of the DC switch, RD : Reliability of the inverter, RF :
Reliability of the transformer= RO= Rb = Rt= Rg, RL :
Reliability of the transmission line, RH : Reliability of the
distributed panel.

17
•Reliability of PVPS interconnected with EU.

From Fig. 2-a and Fig. 2-b the reliability of PVPS interconnected
with EU can be calculated as follows:-

R = 1 − (1 − R )(1 − R ) R
PV / EU 
 1g 2g 
 3g

Where;
R1g= RG Ra Rb Rc Rd Re Rt Rh Rz Ry
R2g = RI RA RB RC RD RE RF RJ
R3g = RK RL RM RN RO RH
Rz: Reliability of power switch, Ry: Reliability of utility
interface.
18
 Reliability of grid-connected PVPS accompanied with
BS.
Also, from Fig. 2-a and Fig. 2-b the reliability of PVPS
interconnected with EU accompanied with BS can be
calculated as follows:-

R
PV / EU / BS
[
= 1 − (1 − R
PVBS 1g
]
)(1 − R ) R
4

19
1.Applications and Results
A new proposed computer program has been used based on the
above methodology for calculating optimum design of stand-
alone PVPS with BS, PVPS interconnected with EU without BS,
and PVPS interconnected with EU accompanied with BS.

The input data of this program are:

1. Hourly radiation, kW/m2.
The average radiation of the horizontal surface and the ambient
temperature for the selected site has obtained from the Egyptian
Metrological Authority for Zafarâna site.
2- Characteristics of PV module ASE-300-DGF/17 type [14].
3-Site latitude, Degrees.
Zafarâna site is located on the western coast of the Seuz Gulf,
latitude 29.07o N and longitude 31.36o E, Egypt.
4- Hourly load demand, kW.
20
The price of selected components.
Price of PV solar module =$2/Wp, Price of Batteries=$120/kWh,
Price of Inverter= $400/kW, Price of Regulator= $100/kW, Price
of electrical Equipment = 10% of PV modules cost, Price of
Civil work = 10% of PV modules cost, Annual fixed cost of
O&M of PV=1% of Pv system cost [11].
Economic assumptions as follows:
Interest rate of 8%, General inflation 3%, Real discount
rate=interest rate-General inflation=5% [11].

21
 The outputs of this program are:

1- Optimum number of PV modules.

The output of the proposed computer program is the optimum

total number of PV modules, number of series modules per string,
and finally number of inverter units. Total Number of
Modules=14760, Number of series Modules/string=20, Number
of parallel strings/subsystem=18, Number of Modules
/subsystem=360, Number of inverter units=41 with its rating of
100kW.
22
 Battery Sizing
A battery with capacity of 1312 Ah and nominal voltage of 24V
was used in this study.
BS capacity for stand-alone PVPS
The BS capacity for stand-alone PVPS can be found by using Eq.
(8) as follows:
BS = ( 19.421 − ( − 14.948) ) /(0.8 * 0.8) = 53.7 Mwh
PV
BS capacity for PVPS Interconnected with EU
The size of BS for PVPS interconnected with EU can be found
from Eq. (9) by changing the critical load PL,critical during one
hour from 0% to 100% of maximum load demand. (ηba=80% , ξ
=80%). Table (1) shows the relation between BS capacity for
PVPS interconnected with EU and critical load.
23
Table (1) Economic of PVPS/EU Under Different Values of BS

PL,critical=
BS capacity, kWh Cost of BS, $ ECF Cent/kWh
% Pmax-Load
kW
0% 0 0 0 9.3505
10% 200 312.5 37500 9.3806
18% 360 562.5 67500 9.4046
20% 400 625 75000 9.4106
30% 600 937.5 112500 9.4407
40% 800 1250 150000 9.4707
50% 1000 1562.5 187500 9.5007
60% 1200 1875 225000 9.5308
70% 1400 2187.5 262500 9.5608
80% 1600 2500 300000 9.5908
90% 1800 2812.5 337500 9.6209
100% 2000 3125 375000 9.6509
24
 3- Cost of kWh generated, $/kWh.
The generation cost of the system is estimated based on the
methodology of LCC. The PVPS output annual energy is equal to
9,370,269 kWh. As a result of the estimation, the ECF is calculated
as 15.7967 cent/kWh for stand-alone PVPS, 9.3505 Cent/kWh for
PVPS interconnected with EU without BS. Table (1) shows the
relation between ECF and BS capacity.
From this Table, it can be seen that the ECF increases linearly
against BS capacity. Also, BS capacity is increased linearly with
critical load. Grid failure and low radiation produces 1.10 %
losses of annual energy from PVPS. This value has been obtained
from a new computer program. If we convert these losses to
money we will buy a BS by this amount of money.
The cost of 1.10% losses of annual energy from PVPS can be
found as follows:
25
Cost_loss=0.011*9,370,269*0.093505*7= $67465.20
The BS capacity purchased by this money =
67465.20/120=562.21 kWh. Assuming life span of BS is 7 year.
So, the optimum BS accompanied with PVPS interconnected
with EU equal to 18 % of maximum load demand or 30% of
average load demand.
4- Reliability Calculation

As a result of computer program, the reliability of each

component of the system under study is calculated and tabulated
in Table (2).

26
 Table (2) The Calculated Reliability of Each Component
of PVPS/EU/BS
Component λ average=10-6 Reliability

RA 16 0.9873835627
RB= RE= RJ= RK= RM
3 0.999910004
= RN= Ra= Rc= Re= Rh
RC = RD 1 0.99997
RF= RO= Rb= Rt
0.5 0.999985
RL=Rd
RH 200 0.9994001799

RV 70 0.997902203
RS 0.8 0.999976
RG 50 0.998501124
Rz 1 0.99997
Ry 0.2 0.999994
27
 Comparative Study
 Table (3) reveals the comparative study between stand-alone
PVPS, PVPS interconnected with EU without BS and Grid-
connected PVPS with BS combinations. From this table, it can
be seen that the reliability of the grid-connected PVPS with
BS not only is higher than that of stand-alone PVPS with
1.30222905% but also is higher than that of PVPS
interconnected with EU without BS with 0.0191590% w.r.t.
the reliability of the later. On the other hand, the ECF of
stand-alone PVPS not only is higher that of PVPS/EU with
68.939% but also is higher that of PVPS/EU/BS with
67.967%w.r.t. the ECF of the later. Then, it can be concluded
that the most techno-economical combination is PVPS
interconnected with EU for Zafarâna site.
28
Table (3) Comparative Study between Stand-alone
PVPS, PV/EU and PV/EU/BS

Stand-alone
Combinations PVPS/EU PVPS /EU/BS
PVPS

Reliability
0.986232446 0.99888407 0.99907545

ECF,
Cent/kWh 15.7967 9.3505 9.4046

29
 Conclusions

This paper presents a new complete study from economic and

reliability point of view to determine the impact of interconnecting
PVPS with EU taking into consideration BS all radiation and
variation of the load demand during the day. Three different
configurations of PVPS have been investigated. A new computer
program based on Matlab software introduces in this paper
This computer program can be applied in any site of the world. In
this paper, the computer program has been applied to study
different configurations of PVPS to feed a load of 2MW located at
Zafarâna site, Egypt as a case study. The following are the salient
discussions and conclusions that can be drawn from this study:-

30
 1- Using of BS with the configuration of PVPS/EU has saved
about 1.1% of the system energy losses.
2-The optimum size of BS accompanied with PVPS
interconnected with EU equal to 18 % of maximum load
demand or 30% of average load demand.
3-The ECF of stand-alone PVPS was 15.7967 Cent/kWh, 9.3505
Cent/kWh for grid-connected PVPS and 9.4046 Cent/kWh for
PVPS/EU accompanied with BS.
4-The PVPS/EU interconnected with BS has a higher reliability
level than that of stand-alone PVPS or Grid-connected PVPS
without BS.
5-The price of kWh produced from PVPS has been decreased by
full utilization of PVPS energy through the year using BS.

31