Increasing Solar Radiation Flux on the Surface of Flat-Plate Solar Power Plants in Kamchatka Krai Conditions

Abstract

One of the main problems in solar power plants design is determining the optimal parameters of photovoltaic modules and auxiliary equipment (backup energy sources) that make it possible to economically justify electrical energy generation. Increasing the solar radiation utilization efficiency of the receiving surface by optimally orienting it relative to the horizon allows one to increase its performance without making changes to the design and equipment of the solar power plant. The subject of this study is an increase in the solar radiation flux on the receiving surface of flat-plate solar power plants by optimizing its orientation relative to the horizon. For the entire territory of Kamchatka krai, according to the available actinometric data on the solar radiation intensity, the optimal unregulated angle of the receiving surface relative to the horizon is 40°–45°. With transition from the south to the north of the region, the radiation intensity drops from 1395.4 kW h/m² for Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to 1206.6 kW h/m² for Korf. The optimal angle also lies within 75°–80° for winter, 15° for summer, 35°–40° in spring, and 60° in autumn. The use of seasonal adjustment leads to an increase in the solar radiation density on the receiving surfaces of flat-plate solar plants by 50 kW h/m². Thus, increasing insolation on the surface of flat-plate solar power plants by optimally orienting it relative to the horizon allows one to increase its performance without making changes to the design and equipment of the solar power plant.