Iraq photovoltaic energy storage sand table

How much solar radiation does Iraq get a year?

Iraq is strategically located in the world’s solar belt so it is fortunate to receive large amounts of incident solar radiation more than 3000 h of bright sunshine per year, with average daily sunshine for 11–12 h in summer and 7–8 h in winter. The hourly solar intensity in Baghdad ranges between 416 W/m2 in January and 833 W/m 2 in June.

Can a solar PV microgrid supply a load during a power outage?

This paper aims to analyze the techno-economic and environmental feasibility of a solar PV microgrid system which is able to supply the load during both grid availability and outage periods. A household in Baghdad was selected as a case study. HOMER software was used to carry out the overall analysis using five different control strategies.

What is a solar resource database?

It is provided by the World Bank Group as a free service to governments, developers and the general public, and allows users to quickly obtain data and carry out a simple electricity output calculation for any location covered by the solar resource database.

What is the difference between a national grid and a PV array?

The national grid is the main power source in the system, while, the PV arrays supply the load during the daytime only. To measure the cost of energy of the residential buildings, the Ministry of Electricity in Iraq calculates the cost by multiplying the energy consumption by a specific value in Iraqi Dinar.

Can solar power be sold back to the grid?

It is important to mention that during power outages, the solar system operates in an off-grid mode in which the PV can supply the load and charge the batteries, but it is not possible to sell excess power back to the grid. Prevention of sell back to the grid during power outages is mainly for safety purpose to protect linesmen working on the grid.

How much does a solar PV system cost?

The cost analysis results revealed that the optimized solution (Case 1) used a combination of 5.8 kW PV arrays, 16 units of batteries, a 5-kW converter and the power from the grid, with an NPC of $29,713. The control of this system allows the batteries to be charged by the grid for all rates (case 1).