Grid connected solar photovoltaic system as a tool for green house gas emission reduction in Turkey

doi:10.1016/j.rser.2015.09.023

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

Volume 53, January 2016, Pages 1086-1091

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.09.023 Get rights and content

Abstract

Energy production in a safe and hazard free manner is one of the world׳s greatest concern. Since the inception of Kyoto Protocol, which was adopted in 1997 and entered into force in February 2005, countries have started to adopt different measures for emission reduction such as electricity generation from renewable energy sources; as the source is free from green house gas (GHG) or CO₂ emission. Legislations and financial incentives have been provided by some governments for encouragement and ensuring good returns to the investors in renewable energy sector. This paper analyzes how a 500 kWp solar photovoltaic (PV) system for electricity generation contributes significantly in the GHG emission reduction and also the potential impact of introducing CO₂ emission reduction cost in the solar PV electricity generation. The result shows that the emission reduction is of the order of hundreds of tons of CO₂ and CO₂ emission reduction cost has a positive impact on the cumulative cash flow of the system.

Introduction

Energy production in a safe and hazard-free manner is one of the world׳s greatest concerns. Many analyses have shown that substituting conventional energy sources (such as natural gas, coal, etc.) with non-conventional sources (such as solar, wind, etc.) for electricity generation would result in drastic green house gas (GHG) emission reduction [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7]. Since the inception of Kyoto Protocol, which was adopted in 1997 and entered into force in February 2005 [8], countries have started to adopt different measures for emission reduction ranging from generating electricity from non-conventional or renewable energy sources; pricing policy in significant GHG emission reduction and preferential price known as feed-in-tariff for encouragement and ensuring good returns to the investors in renewable energy sector [1]. This paper analyzes how 500 kWp (kiloWatt peak) electrical power generated from solar photovoltaic (PV) system design based on the solar data of Gaziantep city in Turkey contributes significantly in the GHG emission reduction and also the potential impact of introducing CO₂ emission reduction cost in the solar PV electricity generation has been analyzed for the proposed power case.

Section snippets

Solar photovoltaic

Solar PV modules (or group of PV cells) are made of semiconductor material and are normally arranged as arrays of individual modules use to convert sunlight into direct electric current, which later is converted into alternating current through an inverter if the system output is to be connected to the grid [9]. In 1950s, the first cell was built with less than 4% efficiency [10] since then the efficiency of the cell is substantially improved over time with a drastic decrease in its price. The

Intermittence

Intermittence is the variability of the solar resources which results from the variation in the generation that depends on the availability of the renewable sources (e.g. sunlight). Intermittence limits the resource contribution to the grid as well [16]. To reduce any negative effect that may result from the intermittence of the renewable energy sources and to attain maximum utilization and manage high level of reliability of this source, adaptable advance control system is paramount, or

Green house gases (GHG)

Green house gases are gases in the atmosphere that trap heat, which are major contributor to the climate change. These gases are composed of carbon dioxide (CO₂) that comes from fossil fuel burning, trees and wood products, solid waste and certain chemical reactions, nitrous oxide (N₂O) that results from industrial and agricultural activities, solid waste and fossil fuel combustion and methane (CH₄) which results from transport and production of natural gas, oil and coal and also from other

Fuel mix, GHG avoidance, and GHG emission factor

Fuel mix is a combination of more than one energy source for electrical power generation in a country. This is necessary to avoid total dependency on a single or one particular source, and to explore the available natural resources around as well as to ensure environmental and ecological protection from GHG emission. GHG avoidance is a measure taken in reducing the intensity of the GHG emission during electrical power generation that uses conventional energy sources. Therefore, for a country to

Case study

As it is mentioned, Gaziantep city has been chosen as a case study as it has good solar energy potentials with an average irradiation of 1460 kW h/m² per year and approximately sunshine duration hours of 2993 annually. A 500 kWp solar photovoltaic system, designed and presently under construction in Nizip, Gaziantep city has been considered for study. All necessary solar radiation data required for the design are obtained from RETScreen “The RETScreen is a Clean Energy Project Analysis software,

Results and discussion

Through using the RETScreen software, the CO₂ emission reduction from the proposed energy model has been examined. The RETScreen is used to determine the annual GHG emission reduction for the project compared to conventional technology based cases and the results are presented in terms of tons of CO₂ per-year that will be equivalent to the emission reduction regardless of the actual gases composed in the emission, and this is achieved by converting CH₄ and N₂O to the equivalent CO₂ emission in

Conclusion

This paper estimates the annual GHG or CO₂ emission reduction capacity of grid-connected solar PV system in Gaziantep city of Turkey which has been compared with “equivalent of barrel of crude oil not consumed” using RETScreen software. It is concluded that the emission reduction capacity of the PV system is reasonable and it should be highly recommended as one of the major tool in CO₂ emission reduction. But increasing the share of the solar PV system can only be achieved if there is adequate

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge Safar Al-Hilal for his constructive comments.

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Grid connected solar photovoltaic system as a tool for green house gas emission reduction in Turkey

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Solar photovoltaic

Intermittence

Green house gases (GHG)

Fuel mix, GHG avoidance, and GHG emission factor

Case study

Results and discussion

Conclusion

Acknowledgements

Global CO2 emission reductionsthe impacts of rising energy costs

Energy J

A global review of energy consumption, CO2 emissions and policy in the residential sector (with an overview of the top ten CO2 emitting countries)

Renew Sustain Energy Rev

Carbon emissions from power sector in Pakistan and opportunities to mitigate those

Renew Sustain Energy Rev

Are we there yet? Improving solar PV economics and power planning in developing countriesthe case of Kenya

Renew Sustain Energy Rev

Overview of the photovoltaic technology status and perspective in Turkey

Renew Sustain Energy Rev

Greenhouse gas emission reduction perspectives in the Baltic States in frames of EU energy and climate policy

Renew Sustain Energy Rev

Review of energy and climate policy developments in Japan before and after Fukushima

Renew Sustain Energy Rev

Global CO₂ emission reductionsthe impacts of rising energy costs

A global review of energy consumption, CO₂ emissions and policy in the residential sector (with an overview of the top ten CO₂ emitting countries)