Evaluating the Impact of PV Module Orientation on Grid Operation

A large number of photovoltaic (PV) systems in the power system can cause a variety of different problems in grid operation. As PV modules can have different orientation, the influence on the grid operation, such as power gradients, voltage issues or overloading of assets, is also different. In order to evaluate the impact of PV module orientation on these issues various characteristics of seven differently orientated PV systems have been investigated: seasonal capacity factor, power gradients, peak power, area utilization, and correlation between generation and consumption. The capacity factor decreases for systems with a suboptimal orientation, but on the other hand the generated peak power is also lower. This is beneficial in case of voltage problems and asset overloading. Power gradients are lower and the energy production therefore smoother which leads to a reduced need for conventional power plants or other flexibility options to follow the gradients. East/West oriented PV systems achieve higher area utilization and yield per surface area and may negate the effect of peak power reduction. The correlation of production and consumption of PV systems not facing south is worse while a south orientated façade system has the best correlation. Keywords-PV; capacity factor; power gradient; peak power; area utilization; correlation