Are solar photovoltaic power plants the future of power generation?

Although it currently represents a small percentage of global power generation, installations of solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants are growing rapidly for both utility-scale and distributed power generation applications.

Are financial incentives still required for solar PV projects?

While the cost per kWh of solar PV power has come down dramatically and continues to fall, in most cases direct or indirect financial incentives are still required in order to increase the commercial attractiveness of solar PV projects so that there is sufficient investment in new projects to meet national goals for renewable energy production.

What is a solar PV power plant?

The PV effect is a semiconductor effect whereby solar radiation falling onto the semiconductor PV cells generates electron movement. The output from a solar PV cell is DC electricity. A PV power plant contains many cells connected together in modules and many modules connected together in strings8 to produce the required DC power output.

What is a megawatt-scale grid-connected solar PV power plant?

Figure 2 gives an overview of a megawatt-scale grid-connected solar PV power plant. The main components include: • Solar PV modules: These convert solar radiation directly into electricity through the photovoltaic effect in a silent and clean process that requires no moving parts.

How to improve the performance of a solar PV power plant?

The performance of a solar PV power plant can be optimised by reducing the system losses. Reducing the total loss increases the annual energy yield and hence the revenue, though in some cases it may increase the cost of the plant. In addition, efforts to reduce one type of loss may conflict with efforts to reduce losses of a different type.

What are the planning requirements for a rooftop solar PV system?

Planning requirements for large-scale rooftop solar PV systems differ from those for ground-mounted systems. For small systems, there is often very little permitting required, other than perhaps residential construction.