Title:	On the Impact of a Solar Eclipse across 100 PV Systems in India and Southeast Asia
Author(s):	A.M. Nobre, S. Pranav, R.S. Baker, S. Karthik, A. Agarwal, R. Malhotra, A. Khor
Keywords:	PV System, Solar Radiation, PV Penetration, Eclipse, Grid Reliability
Topic:	PV Systems and Storage – Modelling, Design, Operation and Performance
Subtopic:	Operation, Performance and Maintenance of PV Systems
Event:	37th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition
Session:	5DO.5.5
Pages:	1413 - 1417
ISBN:	3-936338-73-6
Paper DOI:	10.4229/EUPVSEC20202020-5DO.5.5
Price:	0,00 EUR
Document(s):	paper

Abstract/Summary:

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PV system deployment across the globe has grown from 1 GWp in 2000 to ~584 GWp in 20 years, a compound annual growth rate of 38%. Although Asia has seen most of its growth in the past half-decade only, more than 50% of all PV systems are found in Asian locations today. Nonetheless, PV system behavior, either as a single unit or as fleets, is still a relatively new concept to grid operators and therefore it is important to understand what may happen at special “corner case” conditions. A solar eclipse presents such a scenario, where the drop in power with the reduced amount of sunlight reaching the Earth’s surface could present sudden negative (and positive, at the end of the eclipse) gradients of power which may bring challenges. In this work, we aim at showcasing empirical data from various PV systems and meteorological stations across India and Southeast Asia during an eclipse, so that important datasets surface on this topic. We demonstrate loss of power at these systems in relation to astronomic eclipse sun coverage figures as well as loss of energy generation for the observed phenomena across various Asian locations. We also discuss other aspects observed during the eclipse of 26 December 2019 and propose areas of study ahead.