Medium scale photovoltaic applications forBarbados

Leo Moseley and Oliver StC Headley

Renewable Energy, 1999, vol. 17, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: A major obstacle to the implementation of significant photovoltaic applications in theCaribbean region is the unavailability of adequate analyses of the PV installations and theirappropriateness for the particular application, especially in terms of estimates of reliability,maximum and minimum as well as average performances. In this article we outline the currentsituation in Barbados, and show an example of the type of calculation which may be sufficient tointerest architects and engineers in the installation of significant PV systems. We calculate theinstantaneous beam solar energy incident on the four vertical faces of a building at fifteen minuteintervals for every day of the year assuming zero cloud cover. Cloud cover is estimated to reducethe beam contribution by about 15% over a year counterbalanced by the estimated diffusecomponent which increases the total available solar energy by about 30%. We thus determine theavailable energy for PV and find that it compares favourably with that on a horizontal surfaceunder the same conditions. These results indicate that replacing structural glass by PVglass—which incurs no additional cost—leads to worthwhile energy collection and cansignificantly reduce expenditure on electricity.

Date: 1999
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:17:y:1999:i:1:p:1-7

DOI: 10.1016/S0960-1481(98)00110-4

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