Grid Connected Photovoltaics

Project Log

Week 1

We start a general review about renewables and the electricity market in the UK. Each member works on the area it likes the most.

General knowledge is gained about market structure and policies in the UK.

One of the supervisors advises us to keep the scope of the project wide while the other tells us to choose a case study and focus as soon as possible. We try to balance both approaches.

Week 2

We attend a seminar about PV by the President of the British Photovoltaic Association at Caledonian University.

Rhonda leaves the course. We will have to narrow the scope of the project so the area she was working in is not going to be so well covered.

We decide to focus as soon as possible in order to have time to develop the project. The deadline is next Tuesday.

First crit: We notice lots of things to improve: voice projection, slides... We see we should analyse the utilities concerns.

Week 3

Tuesday: We decide to focus on Grid Connected Photovoltaic Systems. It is a topical area nowadays and facilities are avalaible in the university (solar chamber, electrical signal analysis appliances). We see a possibility to do some experiments with an inverter and analyse Power Quality issues.

We delegate tasks and prepare a schedule for the next weeks' time management.

Second crit: We realise we have to justify clearly the choice of our topic. Questions from the audience help us to do so.

Week 4

We have our first industrial contact in Scottish Power. We learn about their views, knowledge and experience. We see there is scope for the project. They are not concerned but they have never faced the problem and they don't have a clear guideline. We get up to date information about regulations.

Week 5

We still keep doing an especific review on Power Quality, PV economics and system design. We prepare strategies to carry out the analysis in each of the areas.

Third crit: We present the areas we want to analyse and the strategies necessary. We have the feeling we are in the good way.

Week 6

We start preparing lab tests to characterise the inverter. Steven (doing a PhD in ESRU) helps us to prepare everything for the labs. We are a bit lost with so much electronic equipment but we are able to overcome all the problems with Steven's help.

Week 7

The seventh week we learn more about the PV power quality by laboratory experiments.

A detailed economical analysis was made for the usage of grid connected PV panels for a family house Power plant of 3 KW and a 50 KW power plant for industrial usage.

Simulation of a PV model using ESP-r and lots of imagination to handle the data with a spreadsheet.

At the end we get interesting information about environmental aspects of Grid connected PV systems from the Internet.

Forth crit: We present economical and environmental data. PV economics are very topical.

Week 8

We choose the case study for the Power Quality and we start collecting data to carry out the analysis. We get very good support from Douglas Grant (Electronic Engineering Department).

However, it is necessary to look at electricity engineering literature for some days to find the methods necessary for the analysis. A lot of pattience is needed. We are three Mechanical Engineers!

Week 9

We keep going with the analysis of the test case establishing the electrical circuit. It is in the final stage. The analysis in system sizing starts giving results. We start putting information in the Web Page. We are working hard.

Visit to the BRE outdoor test facility Centre at the Building Research Establishment, East Kilbride. It is very nice to see PV outdoors in Scotland. We feel happy with the project.

Week 10

Several meetings with the supervisors in order to communicate the results and preliminary conclusions from the analysis. The results look promising but we need to link the different areas and develop a more compact view of the project.

Upgrade the web page

Final crit:Postponed. We have results but not the general view of the project. We aim to develop it for next Tuesday.

Week 11

Meeting with the supervisors to present them which could be the storyline of the final presentation. We have it, looks satisfactory but we are a bit late. The analysis has finished too late. Anyway, we rush and we arrive just in time. We do our best presentation so far and we are OK with the questions.