Performance Evaluation of a Large Building Integrated Photovoltaic System in

Most of our electricity is generated through burning of fossil fuels. However, combustion of fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases which have already been identified as a potential major contributor to global warming and climate change. Utilizing renewable energy sources such as solar to generate clean electricity is one of the means to reduce the environmental impacts resulting from the use of fossil fuels. The use of renewable energy power systems such as photovoltaic system to generate electricity is rapidly expanding throughout the world. In May 2005, the photovoltaic system installed on the roof of the headquarters building of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) of the Government of HKSAR came into operation. With an installed capacity of 350 kW, the building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system is one of the largest of its kind in the Far East. The installation consists of more than 2,300 photovoltaic modules and has a total surface area of about 3,100m. It is not common to have such a large photovoltaic system installed in a single building, the performance of the system was therefore closely monitored for a full year cycle. The technical data collected are used to assess the effectiveness of large-scale photovoltaic system in generating electricity under the geographical and climatic conditions of Hong Kong. The presentation discusses the design concept and reviews the performance of the grid connected photovoltaic system installed in EMSD headquarters building.