Abstract
This study aims to evaluate the seasonal performance of six solar power plants in Senegal. Four of them, located in Bokhol, Sakal, Malicounda, and Kahone, have photovoltaic panels with a capacity of 20 MW, while the remaining two plants in TenMerina and Mekhe have panels with a capacity of 30 MW. To achieve this goal, the study real production data and conducted simulations using three commonly used models: RETScreen, PVGIS, and PVsyst. The analysis of field data clearly shows a significant seasonal variation in energy production, with the highest values occurring during the spring months, from March to May. The rainy season results in the lowest production levels, with the weakest output observed in September. This seasonal fluctuation is due to the presence of clouds and dust, which reduce the amount of solar radiation reaching the panels and therefore decrease the plant's production. Additionally, using movable solar panels at the Sakal plant leads to an excess production of more than 19% compared to the other 20 MW plants that use fixed panels. Subsequently, the study used RETScreen, PVGIS, and PVsyst models to simulate the plant's seasonal production. The results show that the models effectively simulate the seasonal production variations of each plant. PVGIS and PVsyst provide more accurate results, with correlation coefficients higher than 0.9, while RETScreen simulates production with a coefficient of approximately 0.7. Furthermore, PVGIS and PVsyst have an additional advantage over RETScreen as they consider mobile solar panels similar to those used at the Sakal plant. Finally, statistical indicators reveal that the PVsyst model performs better than the others in accurately simulating the seasonal production of both fixed and mobile solar power plants in Sahelian environments.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by SAAN, MSD and SON. The first draft of the manuscript was written by SAAN, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Niang, S.A.A., Drame, M.S., Gueye, A. et al. Analysis and simulation of six solar power plants seasonal production in Senegal, West Africa. Model. Earth Syst. Environ. 10, 1543–1554 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40808-023-01908-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40808-023-01908-x