The Motivation for Incorporation of Microgrid Technology in Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic Deployment to Enhance Energy Economics

Mageswaran Rengasamy, Sivasankar Gangatharan, Rajvikram Madurai Elavarasan and Lucian Mihet-Popa
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Mageswaran Rengasamy: Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai, Tamil Nadu 625015, India
Sivasankar Gangatharan: Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai, Tamil Nadu 625015, India
Rajvikram Madurai Elavarasan: Clean and Resilient Energy Systems Laboratory, Texas A&M University, Galveston, TX 77553, USA
Lucian Mihet-Popa: Electrical Engineering Department, Ostfold University College, No-1757, P.O. Box 700, 1757 Halden, Norway

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 24, 1-27

Abstract: Deployment of rooftop solar Photovoltaic technology in domestic premises plays a significant role in accomplishing renewable energy transformation. The majority of domestic consumers still do not have a positive perception about adopting rooftop solar PV technology, due to its high capital cost and prolonged payback period. In this aspect, the proposed work identifies the factors causing energy deprivation in the present distribution and utilization system. To explicitly express the importance of the present work, an extensive case study based on an Indian scenario has been carried out to investigate where the losses occur in the existing distribution system and how the solar power and its storage system have been ineffectively utilized. The deep investigation has thrown light on several issues that lead to the performance deterioration of PV technology. Finally, in this work, a scheme to incorporate hybrid microgrid technology in the domestic distribution network has been proposed to effectively manage the distribution system and to efficiently utilize solar power and its storage systems. The real-time electricity tariff data have been taken for cost comparison and payback period calculations to prove the effectiveness of the proposed method. Crucial comparisons have been presented based on energy saving and carbon dioxide CO 2 emission reduction strategies.

Keywords: distribution system; solar PV; energy storage system; hybrid microgrid; conversion loss reduction; CO 2 emission reduction; payback period (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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