Design and performance analysis of solar energy plants

The fact that photovoltaic systems which are connected to grid, become widespread and guarantee of purchase is provided by government to the energy produced from these systems have turned these systems into an investment tool. A feasibility study is needed for solar energy investment as it is needed for all other investments. In this sense, prediction of the amount of energy to be produced in power plant which is planned to be established has vital importance. There are some points to be taken into consideration in order to have consistent predictions. The first important point for the investments in floor-mounted solar energy power plant is the selection of land in which the system is going to be established. This decision will play an important role of the performance of the power plant that is going to be established. Aspect of the selected land, inclination of the land, the shadowing effect of surrounding landforms need a detailed examination and need to be taken into consideration when getting to the phase of project design. The situation in rooftop solar power plant is even more different. In these systems the inclination and direction of the roof on which the system is going to be established change from project to project and is generally far from the required rates for maximum performance. Thus, the prediction of the possible energy production of planned power plant becomes difficult. In this thesis, the design and the performance analysis of the roof and land solar power plant which is planned to be established are studied. The characteristics of photovoltaic cells and their working principle are addressed. Along with the effect of the change in panel`s angle upon radiation on the panel and system, analysis of power and energy loss that will happen because of the errors during land selection are carried out with the applications developed in Matlab environment.