Re-Thinking Optimum DC/AC Ratio for PV Solar - Part II

Description and Background: This presentation will be a follow-up “Re-thinking Optimum DC/AC Ratio for PV Solar”, presented at 2022 RE+ Conference. The original presentation examined optimum DC/AC design ratio for PV solar facilities and presented results that, based on project economics, optimum ratio could be much higher than the industry standard of 1.2. Economic models were developed for fixed-tilt ground-mount designs, and DC/AC ratio was varied from 1.0 – 3.0. Findings included that optimum DC/AC ratio was greater than 1.2 and optimum ratio increased as power price increased.
A number of potential follow-ups and analyses were suggested by attendees, including:
• Replicating the study with single-axis trackers;
• Replicating the study with bi-facial modules;
• Impact of intra-day power pricing;
• Impact of including battery storage systems in the economics;
• Informal survey of industry trends;
• Lessons learned from the field.
This paper would use similar methodology to the original study but consider only one location (Western Canada or US), and include cases using trackers, bifacial modules, and energy storage, as well as attempt to alleviate some technical concerns raised by Developers. The paper would also attempt to “drill down” to examine the incremental power produced throughout the day against historical intra-day pricing trends in open power markets (i.e. – non PPA markets).