INDIAN

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

Divecha Centre for

Climate Change
Indian Institute of Science
Renewable Energy Systems
Reports
A case study of

3-MW scale
grid-connected solar
photovoltaic power plant
at Kolar, Karnataka
Performance assessment &
recommendations
H. Mitavachan, Anandhi Gokhale
and J. Srinivasan
REPORT IISc-DCCC 11 RE 1 AUGUST 2011

he Divecha Centre for Climate Change was

established at the Indian Institute of Science in
January 2009 with a generous financial

contribution from Arjun and Diana Divecha and the

Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the
Environment.
The primary goal of this Centre is to understand climate
variability and climate change and its impact on the
environment. The Centre has undertaken outreach activities
to create awareness among people and policy makers about
climate change and its consequences. This has been done
through workshops, lectures and quiz contests. An annual
invited public lecture called the Jeremy Grantham Lecture
on Climate Change has been organized. The Centre has
identified technologies to mitigate climate change in
collaboration with entrepreneurs and different engineering
departments in the Indian Institute of Science. The Centre is
also working with Grantham Institute for Climate Change
at Imperial College, London, on the impact of climate
change on water.

INDIAN

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

Divecha Centre for

Climate Change
Indian Institute of Science
Renewable Energy Systems
Reports
A case study of

3-MW scale
grid-connected solar
photovoltaic power plant
at Kolar, Karnataka
Performance assessment &
recommendations
H. Mitavachan, Anandhi Gokhale
and J. Srinivasan
REPORT IISc-DCCC 11 RE 1 AUGUST 2011

Executive Summary
Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) has established 3 MWpeak capacity
grid-connected solar photovoltaic power plant near Yalesandra village in Kolar
district of Karnataka, which is the first of its scale in India. After the site
preparations were completed the first segment was installed in 4 months,
followed by the second and third segments in the next two months. The plant
was fully commissioned on 27 December 2009. The Yalesandra plant is one
among 20 such Mega-watt size solar power plants in India, *as on 31st July
2011. India has an ambitious plan to build large grid-connected solar power
plants, with a cumulative installed capacity of 20,000 MWp by 2020, under the
National Solar Mission. Hence, it is essential to document the performance of
the first large-scale grid-connected solar power plant installed in Karnataka. In
this report we discuss the performance of the photovoltaic solar power plant in
Kolar during 2010.
0

The Yalesandra power plant is located at a latitude of 12 53' and a longitude of

0
78 09'. The overall area occupied by photovoltaic modules is 10.3 acres. The
plant has 3 segments with each segment having an installed capacity of 1 MWp.
Each segment has 4 inverters with a capacity of 250 kW each. There are 13,368
modules (557 arrays with 24 modules per array) that contain mono-crystalline
Silicon solar cells. The solar photovoltaic modules are connected such that a
voltage of 415 volts is generated at the output of each inverter. This is stepped up
to 11 kV by a step-up transformer and connected to the existing 11 kV grid.
The total electrical energy generated by the Yaleasandra plant during 2010 was
3.34 million kWh and 3.30 million units were sold to the grid. Although the
performance of the photovoltaic modules was good, there were teething
troubles associated with the inverters, which was the main reason for reduced
energy generation. The impact of temperature variation of modules on their
performance was studied both on daily and yearly basis. It is observed that the
efficiency of the plant is more sensitive to temperature than the solar insolation.
Daily datasets of five minute average data have been used for in-depth analysis.
Some of the maintenance and technical related problems faced by the plant
operators have also been discussed.
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Contents
1.

Introduction

2.

Site details

3.

2.1 Technical details

2.2 Cost details

2.3 Plant Maintenance & Operation

Performance Analysis

3.1 Segment-1 and Segment-2

10

3.2 PV Modules Temperature

17

3.3 Performance of Inverter-1

18

3.3.1 Effect of temperature on the efficiency

19

3.3.2 Performance of Inverter-1 on good days Daily plots

20

4.

Technical and maintenance related problems

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5.

Conclusion

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6.

References

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7.

Acknowledgments

27

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1. Introduction
Karnataka's power sector has three main
utilities namely; Karnataka Power
Corporation Ltd. (KPCL) - the Public Sector
generation utility, the Karnataka Power
Transmission Corporation Ltd. (KPTCL) the Public Sector transmission utility, and its
regional distribution utilities - Electricity
Supply Companies (ESCOMs). KPCL is the
main power generator in the state with an
installed capacity of 5975.91 MW of hydel,
thermal, solar and wind energy, with an
additional 9500 MW in the pipeline.
Till 1985, the state's entire capacity had
been hydroelectric, but with 2328 MW of
coal based thermal power stations (and a
few diesel and wind-based plants), the hydro
share of capacity has dropped to about 61%.
Further, only about 75% of the hydro
capacity is available for utilization; the
remaining 25% comprises (a) non-firm
capacity (i.e. a part of the water stored in
some hydro-reservoirs is also meant for
irrigation), (b) unforeseen outages
(necessitating a spinning reserve), and (c)
maintenance protection reserve. Also, in
years of poor rainfall, the contribution of
hydel plants to annual electricity generation
decreases further [1]. One of the main
reasons for the power crisis in 2008-09 was
the failure of the monsoon, which reduced
the reservoir levels in the major hydel
reservoirs (viz., Linganamakki, Supa and
Mani) by 26% compared to 2007-08 and this
led to a reduction of 29.51% (2261 MU) in
hydro generation [2]. All of these are leading
to an increased dependence on thermal
plants, whose GHG emissions are high and
pollute the environment more compared to

hydro and other renewable energy sources.

So, to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels
and increase the share of renewable energy
sources, KPCL has started investing in wind
and solar energy technologies.
In early 2009, KPCL started the Arunodaya
scheme to demonstrate, popularize and
increase the usage of solar energy for
electricity generation. Under this scheme,
KPCL came up with a proposal for installing
the country's first 3MWp scale photovoltaic
solar power plant near Yalesandra village in
Kolar district of Karnataka. The intent of the
project was to provide power to the farmers
to enable pumping and using of the
groundwater for irrigation. There are around
450-500 10-HP pumps in about 14
surrounding villages and farmers were
unable to use these at full capacity because
of inconsistent power supply. The Kolar
plant was fully completed and
commissioned on 27 December 2009 (see
Figure1). Later, two more plants with the
same capacity were constructed in Belgaum
and Raichur (see Table1 and Figure2).
India has an ambitious plan to build large
grid-connected solar power plants, with a
cumulative installed capacity of 20,000 MWP
by 2020, under the National Solar Mission.
Hence, it is essential to document the
performance of the first large-scale
grid-connected solar power plant installed
in Karnataka. This report contains the
analysis of the performance of the
photovoltaic solar power plant in Kolar
during 2010.

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Figure 1 : Photovoltaic Solar Power Plant at Yalesandra, Kolar, Karnataka

Table 1 : Mega Watt scale Solar PV Plants in Karnataka State (all are under KPCL)
Place

Cost per Mega Watt Total Nominal

(Approximate figures) Capacity (MW)

Contractor

Yalesandra
Kolar

Rs. 20 crore

Itnal, Chikkodi
Belgaum

Rs. 20 crore

Photon Energy Systems Ltd.

Yapaldinni
Raichur

Rs. 14.5 crore

BHEL
(yet to be commissioned)

Shivanasamudra
Mandya

Titan Energy Systems Ltd.

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Figure 2 : Karnataka map showing the locations of all the three 3MW Solar PV Power Plants

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2. Site details
The Yalesandra plant installation site has a
steep slope with a level difference of about
15 m and there are rock outcrops in the site.
The structures for the Power Plant
comprises Solar Arrays, PCUs, control

room, substation and other ancillary

structures. The general information
regarding the climatic conditions of Kolar
district and description of the Plant are given
in the Tables 2 and 3.

Table 2 : General Climatic conditions of Kolar district [3]

Height above sea level

882 m
Maximum: 40oC

Ambient Air Temperature

Minimum: 18oC
Maximum: 99.1% (during monsoon)
Relative Humidity
Minimum: 18.3%
Annual average: 1549 mm
Rainfall
Period: 4 months

Table 3 : General description of Yalesandra PV Plant

Place of Installation

Near Yalesandra Village, Kolar, Karnataka,

India

Latitude & Longitude of the place

12 53 & 78 09

Allotted Land Area

15 acres (10.3 acres effectively used)

Nominal Capacity of the PV Plant

3 MW

Date of Commission

27th December 2009

Owner

Karnataka Power Corporation Limited

(KPCL)

Installed by (Contractor)

Titan Energy Systems Ltd., Secunderabad

Modules

Titan S6-60 series

SCADA for diagnosing and monitoring

Yes

PCU (Inverters)

250 kW (12 Nos)

HT Transformer and switchgear for

evacuation

1.25 MVA for each MW

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2.1 Technical details

Segments
The 3 MW Plant is divided into three
independent segments of one MW each.
Each segment is equipped with four
Inverters of 250 kW each and grouped
together to form one LT panel. Depending on
the mix of 225 & 240 Wp modules, 45 to 46
PV Arrays are connected in parallel to each

PV Arrays

PCUs
z

single Inverter, and each array consists of 24

modules connected in series. The power
generated from 3 MWp PV Plant at 0.415 kV
is stepped up to 11 kV with the help of three
step-up transformers and connected to
existing 11 kV lines. The simple block
diagram of the Plant is shown in Figure 3.

MCBs
LT PANEL 1

TRANSFORMER 1

11 kV HT PANEL

=
TO SCADA

HT
METERING

LT PANEL 2
CUBICLE

TRANSFORMER 2

TO SCADA

LT PANEL 3

SPARE

TRANSFORMER 3

TO SCADA

Figure 3 : Simple block diagram of the PV Plant

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11 kV
KPTCL lines

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Tables 4 and 5 give the general technical details and the module specifications of the Plant.

Table 4 : Technical data of Solar PV

Two type of S6 - 60 series modules are used

225 Wp & 240 Wp

Total number of modules

13,368
[10,152 - 225 Wp ; 3216 240 Wp ]

Solar Cell material

Mono-Crystalline Silicon

1 Array

24 Modules

No. of Arrays per Inverter (250 kW)

45-46 (Total 557 Arrays with 12 Inverters)

Arrays per MW

1st MW 181
2nd & 3rd MW 188 per MW

Total Solar Cells area

5.4 acre

Inclination of Modules

15 degree

Table 5 : Module Specifications [4]

Type

S6- 60 series

Maximum Power, Pmp (W)

225

240

Maximum Power Voltage (Vmp)

28.63 V

29.62 V

Maximum Power Current (Imp)

7.93 A

8.12 A

Open Circuit Voltage (Voc)

37.50 V

37.62 V

Short Circuit Current (Isc)

8.52 A

8.55 A

Module dimensions (mm)

1657 x 987 x 42

Number, type and arrangement of cells

60, Mono-Crystalline, 6 x 10 Matrix

Cell Size

156 x 156 (mm)

NOCT Nominal Operating Cell Temp (C)

45

Weight (Kg)

19

Glass Type and Thickness

3.2mm Thick, Low iron, Tempered

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Power Conditioning Units (PCUs)

Transformers

All the twelve PCUs are identical and are

supplied by the single manufacturer
BONFIGLIOLI (VECTRON, RPS 450 type).
The MPPT device is in-built in the control
system which allows operating at constant
voltage. The efficiency of the PCUs is
around 96% at nominal load. The rated
capacity of the PCU is 250 kW.

The full load rating of the Transformers is

1.25 MVA. All the three oil - cooled
Transformers are supplied by the
manufacturer Pan Electro Technic
Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. The efficiency is
98.91% at rated voltage and 99.3% at
maximum flux density.

Mounting structure

Type

6 x 4 Module Array
(24 modules per Structure)

Material

Mild Steel

Overall dimensions (mm)

6780 x 6030

Coating

Galvanized

Wind rating

160 km per hour

Tilt angle

150

Foundation

PCC

Fixing type

Nut Bolts

Timelines
Foundation was laid on 9th January 2009
and the site handed over to TITAN on 28th
May 2009. 1MWp was completed on

30th September 2009, 2 MWp on 12th

November and 3 MWp on 27th December
2009.

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2.2 Cost details

The total cost of installing the Power Plant
including the maintenance charges for first
three years is approximately Rs. 60 crores.

The detailed Cost breakup of 3 MW Kolar PV

plant is given in Table 6.

Table 6 : Cost breakup of 3 MWp Yalesandra PV power plant [3] [5]

Item

Cost (in Rupees)

SPV Arrays totaling to 3 MWp

43,50,00,000

PCUs

5,40,00,000

Mounting structures

3,00,00,000

Cables & Hardware

50,00,000

Junction box & distribution boxes

9,00,000

Lightning Arrester, Earthing kit

12,00,000

PVC pipes & accessories

3,00,000

Spares for 3 years

5,00,000

SCADA system

20,00,000

Taxes, CST/KVAT, etc.

1,05,78,000

Design, engineering, quality surveillance,

testing, transportation, insurance coverage, etc.

1,80,99,400

Total Supply of Equipments (for 3 MW)

55,75,77,400

Erection & Commissioning

2,98,00,000

10 kW additional solar PV system with

Battery support

31,00,000

Note: Miscellaneous expenses have not been taken into account

2.3 Plant Maintenance & Operation

In addition to 3 MWp, one more 10 kW PV
plant has been installed on the rooftop of
office building to take care of domestic
lighting and cooling loads of the Plant,
including the load of exhaust fans. At
present, the plant is maintained by 13
workers which includes 2 technical persons
who look after data collection and
monitoring.
Three bore - wells have been installed at
the site with pump-set capacities of 2 HP,
5 HP and 10 HP. The 2 HP pump set is used

regularly to meet the water requirements of

the Plant. The other two pump sets remain
idle most of the time.
Cleaning of PV Modules:
Generally, the modules are cleaned by
spraying water with the help of extendable
hosepipes. Occasionally, wipers are used to
remove the accumulated dirt and bird
droppings, say once in a month. On an
average, each module is cleaned once in a
week on rotational basis.

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3. Performance analysis
The total Energy produced by 3 MWp Plant
during the year 2010 was 3,347,480 units.
Out of this, 3,303,200 units were sold to the
grid. Figure 4 shows the contribution of all
the three Segments in the total power

generation during 2010. Since Segment-3

was not performing satisfactorily for a few
months, which is evident from the figure, we
will restrict our analysis to the first two
Segments only.

Energy generated by 3 MW Plant - 2010

450000

Segment-3
Segment-2
Segment-1

Monthly Energy Generation (kWh)

400000
350000
300000
250000
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Month
Figure 4 : Contribution of all the three segments in the total power generation during 2010

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3.1 Segment-1 and Segment-2

The performance of the first two segments
and their cumulative production over the
year 2010 is shown in Figures 5 and 6
respectively. The total cumulative Energy
generated by both the Segments together
for the year 2010 was 2,429,219.6 kWh with

mean output of 6655.4 kWh per day. The

capacity factor for this 2 MW plant was
around 14.52% at the generation end
(impact of grid-off times and maintenance
down times are not included).

Segment-1
Segment-2

Energy Generated per day [kWh/day]

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0
Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Time [Daily]

Figure 5 : Daily Performance of Segment 1 & 2 during 2010

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The highest power generation achieved was

11812.4 kWh on 5th February 2010, with the
recorded insolation, average module

temperature and Plant efficiency of 6663

Wh/sqm/day, 42oC and 12.24% respectively.

2,429,219.6 kWh

Energy produced [kWh]

2500000

2000000

1500000

1000000

500000

Jan

Feb Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Time [Daily]
Figure 6 : Cumulative Energy Produced by Segment 1 & 2 for the year 2010

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The decline in energy generation during

August to November period in Figure 7 was
mainly due to the improper functioning of
four Inverters (two in Segment-1 and the
other two in Segment-2), and partially
because of higher plant downtime and more

number of cloudy days during that period

(see Figures 8 and 9). The declination can
be seen more clearly in Fig. 11 which shows
the variation of daily efficiency for the 2 MW
plant during the year 2010.

12000

Energy Produced [kWh]

10000

8000

6000

4000

2000

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Time [Daily]

Figure 7: Daily energy production of 2MW Plant [Seg.1 & 2]

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EnergyGen (wh/day)

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Inverter 1

Inverter 2

Inverter 3

Inverter 4

Inverter 5

Inverter 6

1.6M
1.4M
1.2M
1.0M
800.0k
600.0k
400.0k
200.0k
0.0

Inverter 6

1.6M
1.4M
1.2M
1.0M
800.0k
600.0k
400.0k
200.0k
0.0

Jan

EnergyGen (wh/day)

Inverter 7

Mar

Inverter 8

May

Jul

Sep

Nov

Date

1.6M
1.4M
1.2M
1.0M
800.0k
600.0k
400.0k
200.0k
0.0
Jan

Mar

May

Jul

Sep

Nov

Jan

Mar

Date

May

Jul

Sep

Nov

Date

Figure 8: Daily performance of all the 8 inverters

Figure 8 shows the daily performance of all

the inverters, first four come under
Segment-1 and the next four under
Segment-2. It can be seen that the Inverters

2, 3, 5 and 7 (which are shown in red) were

malfunctioning during the period August to
November, as compared with the remaining
four inverters.

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Plant Shut Down

Grid-Off Times

100

Downtime (Hours)

80

60

40

20

0
Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May Jun

Jul

Aug Sep

Oct

Nov Dec

Month
Figure 9: Monthly Plant down-time in hours-2010

Grid-off times: Figure 9 shows the

cumulative monthly grid-off times during the
year 2010. Out of the 357 days of the Plant's
operation, there were 75 days on which the
grid was off for less than an hour and 57 days
with grid-offs more than one hour. Totally the
grid was off for about 201.4 hours. Also, it

was observed that the grid-offs occurred

mainly during the peak hours (11.30 am
2 pm), that is, when the availability of solar
insolation is maximal.
The Plant was shut down for 8 days during
November for repairing the faulty cables and
Inverters.

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Solar Insolation
The Plant is equipped with a Pyranometer
installed at an angle of 15o, equal to the
inclination of the Modules. The Solar
Insolation recorded at the site is shown in
Figure 10. The Insolation data is not
available for about 44 days, especially from

mid May to mid June, due to some problem

in the Pyranometer. The highest recorded
daily insolation was 7199 Wh/sqm on 2nd
March 2010. The yearly average insolation
on the panels was about 4789 Wh/sqm/day.

8000

7000

5000

Insolation [15 Wh/m2]

6000

4000

3000

2000

1000
Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Time [Daily]
Figure 10: Daily Solar Insolation at the site - 2010 [@15o. inclination]

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Efficiency
The 2-MW plant efficiency is the combined
efficiencies of segments 1 and 2 after the
dc-ac conversion by inverters to 415 Volts
and just before stepping up to 11 kV ac. So,
this should not to be confused with the
overall plant efficiency.
Figure 11 shows the efficiency of the 2 MW
plant, that is combined efficiency of
segments 1 & 2, over the study period. The
highest efficiency achieved was 13.41% on
24th July 2010. The total energy generated
on that day was 4975.8 kWh with solar

insolation of 2561 Wh/sqm and an average

module temperature of 28.630C. The daily
efficiency of the 2MW plant ranged from 5%
to 13.41% depending on the performance of
arrays, inverters, average module
temperature and the solar insolation. The
yearly average daily efficiency of the plant
was about 10.14%, considering the days
which have grid-offs for less than half an
hour or no grid-offs. The abnormal drop in
the efficiency during the last few months was
mainly due to inverter related problems.

16

Plant Efficiency (%)

14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Time [Daily]

Figure 11: Daily Efficiency of 2 MW Plant [Seg.1&2]

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Temperature [deg. Celsius]

60

50

40

30

20

10

Jan

Feb Mar

Apr May Jun

Jul

Aug Sep Oct

Nov Dec

DATE
Figure 12: Daily average temperature of PV modules (During day time) 2010

3.2 PV Modules Temperature

Figure 12 shows the daily average
temperature of PV modules for the year
2010. It ranged from a minimum of 24.650C
0
(on 6th Dec) to a maximum of 51.9 C (on
23rd April).
Figure 13 shows the combined plots of plant
efficiency, daily average modules
temperature and daily solar insolation with
reference to time scale. It appears from the
figure that the efficiency is more sensitive to
modules temperature than the insolation.

Although the solar insolation level is more in

March compared to January, the efficiency
during March is low. This may be due to
increase in the daily average temperature of
PV modules during that month, as seen from
the Figure. But this is not very clear because
of too much noise in the data. To reduce the
noise and explore the issue further, we
decided to analyze a single inverter which
had performed well during the study period.

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Figure 13: Daily variation of average modules temperature, insolation (in Wh) and efficiency of the 2MW Plant

3.3 Performance of Inverter-1

As the performance of Inverter-1 is good
compared to other Inverters (see Figure 8),
we chose this Inverter for more in-depth
study. Figure 14 shows the plot of daily

energy generation by Inverter-1 versus the

incident solar insolation on that day for the
year 2010. The energy generation increases
linearly with the increase in solar insolation.

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1600
1400

Inverter-1

Energy Generated (kWh)

1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

Solar Insolation (Wh/m /day)

Figure 14: Annual plot of daily energy generated by Inverter-1 versus solar insolation

3.3.1 Effect of temperature on efficiency

Figure 15 shows the variation in energy
generation of solar modules with insolation
and the effect of module temperature on
their efficiency. The plots are made using the
5 minutes average values from 10 am to
3 pm on 21st January, 2010.
Even though the energy generation shows
direct dependency on the incident solar
insolation [see Figure 15(A)] and reaches
the maximum during peak insolation hours,
the efficiency of the modules decreases and
reaches the minimum during peak hours.

This is mainly because of increase in the

temperature of modules, which negatively
impacts the efficiency more during that time
[see Figure 15(B)]. Figure 16 shows the
variation in efficiency of the modules with
variation in temperature of modules, along
with color mapped values for average solar
irradiance. The efficiency of the modules
o
decreases from 14.5% at 30 C to 11.5% at
55oC. It is also clear from the Figure that the
temperature of modules increases with the
increase in solar insolation and reaches the

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maximum during peak insolation hours,

leading to reduced conversion efficiency.
Thus, the Plant's capacity to produce
maximum power is retarded during peak
insolation hours, when the availability of
incident solar radiation is highest, because
of increase in modules temperature.
Figure 17 shows the annual plot of daily
efficiency of modules in Inverter-1 versus
daily averaged module temperature (binned

values) for the year 2010. Due to lots of

0
noise below 20 C, the temperature values
were binned between 200C and 550C. Then
the efficiency values were binned between
10% and 15% choosing only the maximum
points. The plot shows linear decrease in the
daily efficiency of modules from 14.5% to
11.5% with increase in the daily averaged
modules temperature from 25 oC to 50oC.

3.3.2 Performance of Inverter-1 on good days Daily plots

Figure 18 shows the daily performance plots
of Inverter-1 on 24th March, 11th May, 18th
June, 24th July and 20th September. The
plots on the left side show the variation of
energy generation with solar insolation and
the right side plots show the variation in

1200

17000
Efficiency
Temperature

Insolation
Energy Generated

1150
1100

56

16000

900
14000
800

49
12.0

850

Efficiency (%)

15000
950

12.8

13000

750
700

42

11.2

650
09:00

12000
10:00

11:00

12:00

13:00

14:00

15:00

09:00

10:00

11:00

Time, Jan 21

Figure A: Insolation and Energy Generation (of Invereter-1)

Temperature ( C)

1000

Energy Generated (Wh)

1050

Insolation (W)

efficiency of Inverter-1 with modules

temperature. The values of solar insolation,
modules temperature and efficiency are
averaged for every 5 minute interval. The
energy generation values are the cumulative
figures generated for the same time period.

12:00

13:00

14:00

15:00

16:00

Time, 21-Jan

Figure B: Efficiency and Temperature of Modules (of Invereter -1)

Figure15: Plots of insolation, energy generation, efficiency & temperature of

Inverter-1 modules on January 21

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15.0

5 Min Avg. Efficiency

14.5

SCALE FOR AVG

SOL IRR (W/m2)

14.0
1000
900.0

Efficiency(%)

13.5

800.0
700.0

13.0

600.0
500.0
400.0

12.5

300.0
200.0

12.0

100.0
20.00

11.5
11.0
25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

Temperature ( C)
Figure 16: Efficiency v/s Temperature of modules of Inverter-1 (5 min average values)
on January 21, 2010 (Color scale : Average Solar Irradiance)

Plot Maximum Efficiency vs Temperature of Modules in Inverter 1

14.5
Maximum Efficiency
Linear Fit of Maximum Efficiency

Maximum Efficiency (%)

14.0

13.5
13.0

12.5

12.0
11.5

11.0
25

30

35

40

45

50

55

Temperature ( C)

Figure 17: Plot of daily maximum efficiency versus temperature of modules in Inverter-1 for 2010
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14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
09:36

10:48

12:00

13:12

14:24

15:36

16:48

18000
16000
14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
09:36

10:48

12:00

13:12

14:24

15:36

70

15
14

60

13
12

50

11
10

40

9
8

30

7
20
09:36

10:48

14
60

13
12

50

11
10

40

9
8

30

7
20
10:48

10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
14:24

15:36

Temp Mod (Deg. C)

Solar Insolation (W/m )

12000

14
13
12

50

11
10

40

9
8

30

7
20
10:48

10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
14:24

15:36

Temp Mod (Deg C)

Solar Insolation (W/m )

12000

6
16:48

15
14
13
12

50

11
10

40

9
8

30

7
20
09:36

10:48

12:00

13:12

14:24

15:36

6
16:48

12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
14:24

15:36

16:48

Temp Mod (Deg C)

14000

70
14
60
12
50
10
40
8

30

20
09:36

10:48

12:00

13:12

Time (Sept-20)

Figure 18: (Left) Daily plots showing variation of energy generation with insolation;
(Right) Daily plots showing variation of efficiency with modules temperature
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16:48

Efficiency (%)

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Energy Generation (Wh)

Solar Insolation (W/m )

15:36

60

16:48

18000

Time (Sept-20)

14:24

Time (July-24)

1200
1100
1000
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
13:12

13:12

70

Time (July-24)

12:00

12:00

Efficiency (%)

14000

10:48

6
16:48

15

09:36

Energy Generation (Wh)

16000

09:36

15:36

60

16:48

18000

13:12

14:24

Time (June-18)

1200
1100
1000
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
12:00

13:12

70

Time (June-18)

10:48

12:00

Efficiency (%)

14000

09:36

6
16:48

15

09:36

Energy Generation (Wh)

16000

13:12

15:36

70

16:48

18000

12:00

14:24

Time (May-11)

1200
1100
1000
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
10:48

13:12

Time (March-24)

Time (May-11)

09:36

12:00

Efficiency (%)

1200
1100
1000
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100

Energy Generation (Wh)

Solar Insolation (W/m )

Time (March-24)

Temp Mod (Deg. C)

16000

Temp Mod (Deg. C)

18000

Efficiency (%)

1200
1100
1000
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100

Energy Generation
Efficiency

Energy Generation (Wh)

Solar Insolation (W/m )

Solar Insolation
Temp Mod

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4. Technical and maintenance related problems

Some of the major technical & maintenance
related problems faced by the plant
operators are as follows:
?
The power of the PV plant cannot be fed
to the grid if the power supply from the
grid stops. Due to this, the power from
the PV Plant is not available when it is
needed most and the capacity of the
Plant to work effectively has been
retarded.
?
There is no tracking mechanism to
locate the modules if they fail. If a
module fails, it is very tiresome to
identify it because no sensors have
been installed for this purpose. The only
solution presently available is to wait till
the peak time to identify the Inverter
(from which the output is lower). Then
the Inverter has to be isolated and all
the 45-46 arrays connected to this
inverter should be checked. Once the
faulty array is located, all the connected
modules need to be checked to identify
the faulty one.

?
Presently the modules are cleaned by
s p r a y i n g w a t e r. B u t t h e d u s t
accumulated on the modules turns into
paste form once the modules are water
sprayed, making it difficult to remove.
Also, the height of the modules
mounting structures (see Figure 19)
makes it impossible to remove the dirt
completely with wipers while standing
on the ground. This has led inevitably, to
the option of cleaning the modules by
climbing on top of them (and then using
wipers!). This will weaken the strength
of solar modules as well as mounting
structures in the long run and also affect
the power production. Hence, it is felt
that there is a need to address this issue
by developing alternate method/
technology for cleaning the PV
modules.
?
Recently, some of the modules have
shown change in color (see Figure 20).
It is yet to be ascertained whether this
color change in the modules has any
negative impact on their performance.

Figure 19: Photo of PV Plant showing the modules mounting structures inclined at 150.
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Figure 20: Visual color change of the photovoltaic modules

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5. Conclusion
The performance of the 3 MWp Yalesandra
solar photovoltaic power plant has been
analyzed for the year 2010. The total
electrical energy generated by the
Yalesandra power plant during 2010 was
3.34 million kWh and 3.30 million units were
sold to the grid. Based on the performance of
the first two segments we estimate the mean
output to be 6655 kWh per day. This is lower
than expected for a solar power plant and is
on account of teething trouble associated
with inverters and the grid-encountered in
the first year of the operation of the plant. It
was found that failure in inverters were the
most frequent incidents. This is mostly
caused by lack of experience in the initial
production stage and some unexplained
inverter failures might be caused by
disturbance from the grid and other
interconnected issues [6].
The impact of temperature variation (of
modules) on the performance of
photovoltaic mono-crystalline silicon
modules was studied both on daily and
yearly basis (daily average values). It is
observed that the efficiency of modules is
more sensitive to temperature than the solar
insolation. The normal daily trend is that the
efficiency of Plant is high during morning
hours but low during the middle of the day
and again starts increasing from late

afternoon. The daily efficiency of modules

varied from 14.5% to 11.5% with the
variation in the daily averaged modules
o
o
temperature from 25 C to 50 C. Hence,
cooling of the solar modules may be
desirable to increase the efficiency. There is
a need to evaluate if the additional energy
required for cooling the solar modules will be
less than the additional energy generated
due to higher efficiency.
The daily plots showing the variation of
efficiency with modules temperature and the
variation of energy generation with solar
insolation have been plotted for five different
days of the year. Also, some of the present
maintenance and technical problems faced
by plant operators, including the color
change in PV modules and cleaning issues,
have been discussed.
It is also suggested that more measuring
instruments such as Pyrheliometer, Rain
Gauge, Thermocouple (Thermometer) for
measuring ambient temperature, to be
installed in the plant and the existing
instruments to be calibrated for greater
accuracy. This will enable further technical
analysis of Indias first 3MW scale plant and
help KPCL in their future solar power plant
projects.

3
M
W
s
c
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i
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R
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p
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I
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D
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26

6. References
1
.A
n
t
o
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t
t
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D
'
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a
a
n
d
K
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V
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a
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'
s
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c
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&
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u
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d
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F
o
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,
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n
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n
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a
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y
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.
2
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.
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r
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p
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n
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r
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o
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K
a
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.
3
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o
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a
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P
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P
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s
,
c
o
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m
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o
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q
u
i
p
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n
t
s
,
C
E
(
E
I
&
T
A
)
/
S
P
V
,
K
P
C
L
a
n
d
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i
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a
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.
,
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4
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T
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s
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,
S
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u
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a
b
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.
5
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o
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a
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f
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o
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,
t
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t
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a
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m
m
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f
3
M
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S
o
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a
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P
V
p
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w
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a
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,
K
P
C
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a
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a
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s
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,
S
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c
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a
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.
6
.M
o
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a
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d
A
.
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l
t
a
w
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d
Z
h
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h
a
o
,
G
r
i
d
c
o
n
n
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t
e
d
p
h
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t
o
v
o
l
t
a
i
c
p
o
w
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r
s
y
s
t
e
m
s
:
T
e
c
h
n
i
c
a
l
a
n
d
p
o
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n
t
i
a
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p
r
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b
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s
A
r
e
v
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w
,
R
e
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w
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a
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S
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1
4
,
2
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1
1
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1
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9
.

3
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R
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27

7. Acknowledgements
W
e
w
i
s
h
t
o
t
h
a
n
k
M
r
.
B
.
R
.
N
a
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a
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a
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,
E
x
C
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e
f
E
n
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i
n
e
e
r
,
R
E
P
r
o
j
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c
t
s
,
K
a
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n
a
t
a
k
a
P
o
w
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r
C
o
r
p
o
r
a
t
i
o
n
L
t
d
.
(
K
P
C
L
)
f
o
r
p
a
r
t
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c
i
p
a
t
i
n
g
i
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a
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.
W
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r
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A
.
V
.
V
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R
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.
W
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K
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C
l
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m
a
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C
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,
f
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k
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d
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p
p
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c
o
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f
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p
r
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c
t
.

3
M
W
s
c
a
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g
r
i
d
c
o
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n
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c
t
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d
s
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a
r
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p
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a
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t
a
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K
o
l
a
r
,
K
a
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n
a
t
a
k
a

Satellite image of the 3-MW scale grid-connected solar photovoltaic power plant at Kolar, Karnataka

REPORT IISc-DCCC 11 RE 1
AUGUST 2011

DIVECHA CENTRE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE
Bangalore