Design and Implementation of Solar Projects

Report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

B. Tech. degree in Mechanical Engineering

By

NAME OF THE STUDENT Roll No.

1. Parth Nayanesh Patel 17BME077

Under the supervision

Of
(Dr. Vivek Kumar)

SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY
PANDIT DEENDAYAL ENERGY UNIVERSITY
GANDHINAGAR, GUJARAT, INDIA
May 2021

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 Design and Implementation of Solar Projects

Report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the B.

Tech. degree in Mechanical Engineering

By

NAME OF THE STUDENT Roll No.

1. Parth Nayanesh Patel 17BME077

Under the supervision

Of
(Dr. Vivek Kumar)

SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY
PANDIT DEENDAYAL ENERGY UNIVERSITY
GANDHINAGAR, GUJARAT, INDIA
May 2021

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 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the report on “Design and Implementation of Solar Projects” submitted by
the students, as a requirement for the degree in Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech) in Mechanical
Engineering, under my guidance and supervision for the session 2020-2021.

Name of the student Roll No. Signature

Parth Nayanesh Patel 17BME077

Date: 22/05/2021
Place: Gandhinagar Dr. Vivek Kumar

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to acknowledge the School of Technology, PDPU, and Drashta Power
Consultants Pvt. Ltd. for giving me the opportunity to do a Comprehensive project.
I would like to thank, for providing me this project at DPCPL.

I would like to thanks my mentors, Dr. Vivek Kumar (Faculty Advisor) and Mr.
Shilpan Shukla (Industry Mentor) for their time, support, help, and motivation to
complete this project. I would also thank the entire team at DPCPL who were with
me during the execution of the project.

At last, I would like to thanks Dr. Vishvesh Badheka (HOD) and Dr. Vinay Vakharia
(CP Coordinators) for their constant support and help during the period of this
project.

Name of Student Signature of Student

1. Parth N. Patel (17BME077)

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 INDEX TABLE

Sr. No. Contents Page No.

Chapter – 1: Introduction to the company
1.1 Introduction to DPCPL 9
1.2 Company’s core area of 10
expertise
1.3 Project Activities 11
Chapter – 2:
2.1 Need for Renewable energy 12
2.2 Statistics of Renewable energy 13
in India
2.3 Why Solar Energy? 14
2.4 Working of a solar power plant 16
2.5 Types of solar power projects 17
2.6 Efficiency of solar power plant 18
Chapter – 3: Design and Implementation of 60 KW and 4 MW Solar Project
3.1 Design of 60 KW Solar rooftop 19
projects
3.1.1 System Design 19
3.1.2 Structural Details 21
3.1.3 Plant Layout AC wiring 21
3.1.4 Plant Layout SLD 22
3.2 Preliminary design of 4 MW 23
ground mounted solar rooftop
project
3.3 Results and Discussion 24
3.3.1 Shadow Analysis 24
3.3.2 PVsyst study to determine panel 26
angle
3.4 Conclusion 30

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 List of Figures

List of Figures
Figure No. Title Page No.
1 List of project activities 11
2 Reasons for need for 12
renewable sources of energy
3 Breakdown of proposed 13
renewable generation
4 Advantages of solar plant 14
over other renewables
5 Diverse applications of solar 15
energy
6 Basic components of a solar 16
power plant
7 Types of solar power projects 17
8 60 KW solar rooftop plant 19
layout
9 60 KW solar rooftop plant 21
layout AC wiring
10 60 KW solar rooftop plant 22
layout SLD
11 4 MW ground mounted solar 23
plant layout
12 Shadow analysis of 60 KW 25
solar rooftop plant
13 Sun’s travel path in summer 26
and winter seasons
14 PVSyst detailed solar power 28-29
generation report

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 List of Tables

List of Tables
Table No. Title Page No.
1 Design Assumptions 20
2 Structural Details 21
3 Season wise selection of tilt 30

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 ABSTRACT

Solar energy is one of the promising renewable energy sources which has the
potential to meet the future energy demand around the world. As part of the Paris
Climate Agreement, India has committed itself to achieving 100 GW of solar
energy capacity by 2022.

In view of the above sustainable cause Drashta Power Consultants Pvt. Ltd. has been
doing a noticeable work in the field of solar energy. DPCPL has year’s of expertise
in handling solar EPC projects. The company has been working to develop both
rooftop and ground mounted solar projects.

As a contribution to the cause I have worked with DPCPL during the tenure of my
comprehensive training period in designing a 60 KW Solar rooftop projects and
parallelly on 4 MW ground mounted solar projects under Small Scale Distributed
Solar Projects policy by the Gujarat government. My efforts for the project was to
maximize the irradiance fall, solar panels are generally equipped with a motor
tracking system and are placed at a specific tilt angle. However, tracking methods
are not cost-effective and a fixed tilt angle is not productive. Therfore, I have studied
the shadow behavior and validated power generation using Autodesk Revit and
PVSyst respectively.

As a result, an optimum tilt angle was determined with an aim to maximize power
generation

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 Chapter 1 : About Industry

1.1. Introduction to Drashta Power Consultants Private Limited

(DPCPL)

Drashta Power Consultants Private Limited (DPCPL) is promoted by group of

technocrats namely, Mr.B.D.Kadia, Ex Group Vice president of Aditya Birla
Group in 2006. At present DPCPL is managed under leadership of Mr. Ajay
Shah and Mr. Abhijit Shukla having sizably long experience in Engineering,
Project Management, Operation & Maintenance of various capacity Boilers,
Turbines & Power Plants.

Mr. Ajay Shah, an IIM Ahmedabad (IIMA) Graduate, having more than 28
years of experience in Coal and Gas based thermal power stations, and Mr.
Abhijit Shukla, having more than 28 years of experience in energy sector design
& engineering including Gas based power plant, are heading the company as a
Directors. Both the directors are Alumnus of L.D College of engineering and
having professional experience of more than 25 years.

DPCPL has successfully executed more than 40 ranging from 1 MW to 60 MW

and currently awarded 120 MW project from Kutch Chemicals. Solar grid
interactive ground mounted projects up to 15 MW and Solar Rooftop Projects up
to 1 MW Capacity. DPCPL has also provided consultancy to top consulting
companies like tkIS (ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions, Formerly known as
UDHE), Linde Engineering, IL & FS (Infrastructure Leasing & Financial
Services), etc. for various Power projects.

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1.2. Company’s core area of expertise

▪ Techno Commercial evaluation of Captive Power Projects (CPP) / Co-

generation plants
▪ Feasibility study with Return on Investment (ROI) for Captive Power Projects
(CPP) / Cogeneration plants
▪ Preparation of specification of plant
▪ Selection, Procurement, Erection, & Commissioning of
➢ Solar Roof Top and GRID Connected project
➢ Boiler
➢ Steam Turbine / Gas Turbine Generator sets, Gas / Diesel Generator
Sets with auxiliaries
➢ Power and Control Equipments
▪ Condition monitoring and testing of plant equipments
▪ Energy and Water conversations
▪ Energy Audit
▪ Automation, SCADA etc.
▪ Capacity up-gradation of the power / co-generation plants
▪ Operation & Maintenance of the power / co-generation plants
▪ Liasioning with various Government Agencies related to captive the power /
cogeneration plants
▪ Liasioning with various financial institutions for project finance

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1.3. Project Activities

Customer
Interaction

Site Visit for

feasibility study

Preparation of
technical
specifications

Preparation of
structural
design

Power
generation
study

Preparation of
offer letter

Erection and
Commissioning
of the projects

Fig.1. List of project activities

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 Chapter 2

2.1. Need for Renewable Energy

Greenhouse Pollution and Waste Disposal Injuries to

Gases Acid Rain Challenges Wildlife
Fig.2. Reasons for need for renewable sources of energy

Electricity generation is the leading cause of industrial air pollution in the world.
Most of our electricity comes from coal, nuclear, and other non-renewable power
plants. Producing energy from these resources takes a severe toll on our
environment, polluting our air, land, and water.
Renewable energy sources can be used to produce electricity with fewer
environmental impacts. It is possible to make electricity from renewable energy
sources without producing CO2, the leading cause of global climate change.
But first, just what is renewable energy? Renewable energy is energy derived from
natural resources that replenish themselves over a period of time without depleting
the Earth’s resources. These resources also have the benefit of being abundant,
available in some capacity nearly everywhere, and they cause little, if any,
environmental damage. Energy from the sun, wind, and thermal energy stored in the
Earth’s crust are examples. For comparison, fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and natural
gas are not renewable, since their quantity is finite—once we have extracted them
they will cease to be available for use as an economically-viable energy source.
While they are produced through natural processes, these processes are too slow to
replenish these fuels as quickly as humans use them, so these sources will run out
sooner or later.
Renewable energy provides many benefits to people, business, and the planet.

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2.2. Statistics of Renewable Energy in India

▪ India is emerging as one of the major solar energy markets in the world and
in the process of catching up with the two leading countries like China and
the US. Currently, India ranks as the third-largest solar market in the
world.

▪ Over the past decade, a lot of things have changed in the Indian solar
market. After a significant policy reshuffling by the current government
and increasing adaptation of solar energy throughout the country have
proved to be the right move towards achieving renewable energy solutions

175 GW
(2022)

100 GW 75 GW
(Solar) (Others)

40 GW 60 GW
Hydro Wind Geothermal
(Rooftop) (Other)

Fig.3. Breakdown of proposed renewable generation

▪ The government has aimed for generating 175 GW of power from renewable
sources. Out of which 100 GW would be contributed by Solar energy alone.
▪ Further break down gives indication that 40 GW will be contributed from solar
rooftop projects while another 60 GW will be contributed from ground
mounted solar projects.

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2.3. Why Solar Energy?

Generating electricity with the help of sunlight is something which is going on since
many decades. The sun’s energy i.e. solar energy helps in carrying forward lot of
activities. Electricity makes life easy and that electricity comes from the sun. Solar
power plants help in supplying huge amount of electricity. Solar power pants make
use of solar energy which is renewable for creating electricity hence it has in hold
many benefits.

▪ The drive of trends in Solar Energy is majorly due to the following

feasibilities:

Diverse
Applications

Low Maintenance
Costs

Geological
Advantage

Fig.4. Advantages of Solar Plant over other renewables

▪ Our sun is the source of all life on Earth, and solar energy is useful to us in
many different ways. The sun creates two main types of energy – light and
heat – that we can harness for many activities ranging from photosynthesis in
plants to creating electricity with photovoltaic (PV) cells to heating water and
food.

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 It has diverse applications including:

Solar Electricity

Solar Water Heating

Solar Heating

Solar Ventilation

Portable Solar

Fig.5. Diverse applications of solar energy

▪ Low Maintenance Costs Solar energy systems generally don’t require a lot of
maintenance. You only need to keep them relatively clean, so cleaning them
a couple of times per year will do the job. Most reliable solar panel
manufacturers give 20-25 years warranty. Also, as there are no moving parts,
there is no wear and tear. The inverter is usually the only part that needs to
changed after 5-10 years because it is continuously working to convert solar
energy into electricity (solar PV) and heat (solar thermal). So, after covering
the initial cost of the solar system, you can expect very little spending on
maintenance and repair work.
▪ Solar Plants can be setup even on rooftops and also Solar energy can also be
integrated in the materials used for buildings. Not long ago Sharp introduced
transparent solar energy windows which proves its geographical advantage.
▪ They help in keeping the environment pollution free
▪ Help in generating electricity easily
▪ Though the initial installation for the solar power plant is expensive due to
the advancement in technology the price of these plants are dipping down
▪ It is a brilliant way to store energy and use it for future
▪ It is a great way to save money as most of the electricity is consumed from
the power plants it can help you to reduce bills
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 ▪ As solar power is a renewable source of energy it available free of cost
everywhere
▪ It can be used for lighting, mobile charging, security cameras, park lighting
etc
▪ When there is no power you can use the electricity generated from solar
power plant
▪ It works in the best way when the location is a remote area
▪ Using photovoltaic system helps in increasing the value of your home
▪ As the fuel for running this system is free, you once gain need not worry
about emptying your pockets.

2.4. Working of a Solar Power Plant

▪ The four main basic components of a solar power plant includes:

Solar Mounted
Solar Panels Inverter Transformer
Racks

Fig.6. Basic components of a solar power plant

▪ Solar PV power plants work in the same manner as smaller domestic-scale PV

panels.

▪ As we have know, most solar PV panels are made from semiconductor materials,
usually some form of silicon. When photons from sunlight hit the semiconductor
material, free electrons are generated which can then flow through the material to
produce a direct electrical current.

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 ▪ This is known as the photoelectric effect. The DC current then needs to be converted
to alternating current (AC) using an inverter before it can be directly used or fed
into the electrical grid.

▪ PV panels are distinct from other solar power plants as they use the photo-effect
directly, without the need for other processes or devices. For example, they do not
use a liquid heat-carrying agent, like water, as in solar thermal plants.

▪ PV Panels do not concentrate energy, they simply convert photons into electricity
which is then transmitted somewhere else.

2.5. Types of Solar Power Projects

▪ The classification of solar projects which are currently approved by the

government and discoms can be categorized as follows:

Fig.7. Types of solar power projects

▪ The solar installation has increased by manifolds in the recent years after the
announcement of Solar Policy by the Government, whose policy where
favorable and thus, solar has gained a good amount of traction.

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2.6. Efficiency of Solar Power Plant:

Solar power plants are very efficient for providing electricity as they make use of
the energy of the sun. As solar energy is used in abundance for various purposes,
constant efforts are being to improvise the efficiency of solar panels, solar power
plants and other systems. For measuring the efficiency of a solar power plant you
first need to measure the density. Also a solar power plant should be efficient enough
to supply power when there is no electricity.

Solar power pants supply or generate more amount of electricity when earth receives
maximum density of sunlight. The power plants however also make use of fossil
fuels the conventional power plants burn the fossil fuels for the production of steam,
which then drives the turbines for generating electricity. As solar power plant‘s main
aim is to supply good amount of power when a person needs it the most. Also solar
power plants are installed as back up of electricity. In spite of certain drawbacks, the
solar power plants make the right use of the sun’s energy and have till date been
successful in supplying electricity all over the world.

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 CHAPTER - 3

Design and Implementation of 60 KW and 4MW Solar

Project

3.1. Design of 60 KW Solar Rooftop Project

Fig.8. 60 KW solar rooftop plant layout

3.1.1. SYSTEM DESIGN

a. DESIGN SUMMARY :

PV Module : 335 Wp Multi Crystalline Modules

Total Number of Inverters : As Required

b. CUSTOMER REQUIREMENT

Installation 60 KWp On-Grid Rooftop Solar Power Plant without battery at their premises in
Ahmedabad.

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c. DESIGN ASSUMPTIONS :

Assumptions that are considered for calculating the energy yield (DC) are listed below.

Sr. No. Parameters Values

1 Pitch - Inter row space 0.7 mtrs.

2 Shading No Shading

3 Normal Operating Collector Temperature (NOCT) 44 °C

4 Global Wiring resistance in loss fraction at STC 1.5%

5 Module Quality- Module efficiency loss 0%

6 Mismatch losses - Power loss at MPP 1%

7 Array soiling loss 1%

Table 1. Design Assumptions

d. PROPOSED TECHNOLOGY :
The roof top solar photovoltaic power plant to be proposed shall be consisting of Poly crystalline
solar modules with fixed tilt angle mounting systems and the solar inverters shall be of grid
connected Central/String type without battery back-up.

e. BENEFITS OF PROPOSED TECHNOLOGY :

The benefit of Poly crystalline technology as compared to other existing technologies is as follows:

- Proven technology over years

- Proven Long-term performance (25 Years)
- Abundant semiconductor materials to support high volume production and demand.
- High volumes of production facilities throughout world

f. DESIGN SUMMARY :

Total Installed capacity : 60 KWp

PV Module : 330/335/340 Wp Multi Crystalline Modules

Central / String Inverter : String Inverter

Total Number of Inverters : As Required

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 Module orientation : True South

Annual Approximate Generation : 84,000 kWh

3.1.2. Structural Details

Table 2. Structural Details

3.1.3. Plant Layout AC Wiring

Fig.9. 60 KW solar rooftop plant layout AC wiring

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3.1.4. 60 KW Plant Layout SLD

Fig.10. 60 KW solar rooftop plant layout SLD

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 3.2. Preliminary design of 4 MW Ground mounted Solar
Project

Fig.11. 4 MW ground mounted solar plant layout

Capacity – 4 MW (AC)

▪ The above attached image is a design of 4 MW (AC) ground mounted solar

project under Small Scale Distributed Solar Project by Government. The plant
is designed to be laid out on a 14 Acres piece of land in Alampar, Botad.
▪ The plant is divided into 8 parts and each part accounting to 600 KW (DC).
▪ Similar to above project, a comprehensive study of power generation and
panel tilt determination was carried out.

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 3.3. Results and Discussion

3.3.1. Shadow Analysis

▪ Shading analysis is a very crucial step in finalizing panel locations in
distributed Photo Voltaic (PV) solar installation. The extent of the rooftop
area required by a solar PV plant is a factor of panel efficiency and extent of
shading. Any kind of shading is detrimental to the performance of the entire
solar PV plant. Solar Panels are mostly arranged in strings to meet voltage
requirements. A shade in one panel not only reduces the efficiency of that
panel but cuts short supply from entire string.

▪ A shadow falling on a panel blocks the flow of solar energy and eventually,
the panel gets damaged through heating. The efficiency of a panel at any time
reduces in direct proportion to the area of the shadowed part of the panel.
Sometimes even panels not in shadow zone get heated as they try to
compensate for the power loss. Most often the damaged panels are not covered
under warranty, adding to the operations cost of the plant. Therefore, shadow
analysis was performed using Autodesk Revit to check the shadow on the
longest (21st June) and the shortest day of the year (21st December).

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 st
Winter Solstice – 21 December (Shortest Day) – 12:00
P.M.

st
Winter Solstice – 21 December (Shortest Day) – 4:00
P.M.

Fig.12. Shadow Analysis of 60 KW solar rooftop plant

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3.3.2. PVSyst study to determine Panel Angle

▪ The panels receive maximum amount of radiation when sun rays fall
perpendicular to their surface and minimum amount when sun’s rays fall
parallel. The ideal way is to orient the PV panels horizontally to face the sky
directly. This allows us to collect the maximum amount of solar radiation with
the least obstruction. However, in practical situations, there might be
obstructions like trees, buildings, etc. In such cases the panels are placed in a
particular direction at a selected angle (elevation). And these angles and
directions at which panels are faced and tilted depend on the sun’s orientation
and the latitude of the site respectively.

Fig.13. Sun’s travel path in summer and winter seasons

▪ On fall and spring equinoxes, the sun rises at the due east of south and sets at
the due west of south. Where as in winter months it rises at the south of true
east and sets at the south of true west; in summer months it appears to rise
north of true east and set north of true west. In winter, the sun appears to be at
its lowest in the southern sky. So they must be tilted up from horizontal at an
angle 15o greater than the latitude. Conversely, if a PV system is going to be
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 used mostly in summer, where the sun will be highest in the southern sky, it
may be most advantageous to optimize the performance of the panel by tilting
it 15o less than the latitude.

▪ Therefore, in order to calculate an optimum value of Panel tilt a detailed

generation report at various angle is prepared and depending on the generation
for different angles, an optimum value of Panel tilt is decided.

▪ The PVsyst software not only helps to calculate an optimum panel angle but
also gives a comprehensive power generation report accounting the losses
based on the following parameter:

1. Latitude and Longitude of a place

2. Panel orientation and Capacity
3. Panel Make
4. Inverter Make

A sample report for 15 degree was prepared as attached below:

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Fig.14. PVSyst detailed solar power generation report

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Fig.14. PVSyst detailed solar power generation report
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3.4. Conclusion
Solar energy is one of the promising renewable energy sources which has the
potential to meet the future energy demand around the world. To maximize the
irradiance fall, solar panels are generally equipped with a motor tracking system and
are placed at a specific tilt angle. However, tracking methods are not cost-effective
and a fixed tilt angle is not productive. After study of comprehensive report
generated with the help of PVsyst it can be concluded that seasonal tilting is useful
and the season-wise angle can be selected as follows:
Month Wise Selection of Seasonal Tilt:
Month Maximum Tilt Generation Average
April to August 5 degrees
5.11 KWh/KWp/day
Jan to Mar & Sept to Dec 25 degrees

Month Maximum Tilt Generation Average

April to August 5 degrees
5.16 KWh/KWp/day
Jan to Mar & Sept to Dec 29 degrees
Table 3. Season wise selection of tilt

It can be seen that the tilt angle for winter is greater than in summer due to the
position of the sun in the sky. The results have been validated using PVSyst
software. The main advantage of the proposed angle setting of the panel is an
increase in annual power output of the PV panel which helps to reduce the
CO2 emissions. The same methodology can also be used in the other regions in India
and other countries of the world for PV panel installation. This proposed approach
is quite effective and feasible for implementing in large PV plants in India, therefore,
increase in the generation of plants significantly in an economical way can help
developing nations like India to cater to the need for electricity demand along with
economic benefits.
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 References

[1] A. Sayigh, “Mediterranean green buildings & renewable energy: Selected papers from the world
renewable energy network’s med green forum,” Mediterranean Green Buildings and Renewable Energy:
Selected Papers from the World Renewable Energy Network’s Med Green Forum, pp. 1–963, 2017, doi:
10.1007/978-3-319-30746-6.

[2] B. Jamil, A. T. Siddiqui, and N. Akhtar, “Estimation of solar radiation and optimum tilt angles for south-
facing surfaces in Humid Subtropical Climatic Region of India,” Engineering Science and Technology, an
International Journal, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 1826–1835, 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.jestch.2016.10.004.

[3] B. Belmahdi and A. el Bouardi, “Solar potential assessment using PVsyst software in the northern zone of
Morocco,” Procedia Manufacturing, vol. 46, no. 2019, pp. 738–745, 2020, doi:
10.1016/j.promfg.2020.03.104.

[4] www.drashtapower.com

[5] www.pgvcl.com

[6] www.ugvcl.com

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Project Group Personal Details

1. Name of the Student: Parth Nayanesh Patel

a. Permanent Address: 186, Haridarshan park Soc., C.T.M.,

Ahmedabad – 380026

b. Email: parth.nmc17@sot.pdpu.ac.in

c. Mobile no: 7405177172

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