Performances Analysis of On-Grid-Tied Large-Scale Solar PV Plant in Mali: A Case Study in Kita

Abstract

The installation of on-grid-electricity-generation photovoltaic (PV) system is currently undergoing substantial growth and extension as an alternate source of energy that contributes to Malian buildings. This study presents an evalua-tion of a grid-connected of a 50 MW photovoltaic (PV) system installed in Kita, Mali region. The data was recorded year from 1st January to 31 Decem-ber 2022 based on real time observation. The system is made up of 187,000 modules polycrystalline of 270 Wp. The assessed parameters of the PV instal-lation include energy output, solar radiation, ambient temperature, yields, ef-ficiencies, dust, performance ratio (PR), capacity factor and relationships between dust, yields; between dust and efficiencies. The results show that the final yield ( ) ranged from 3.56 to 5.04 kWh/kWp, the performance ratio (PR) ranged from 70.99% to 75.60% and the annual capacity factor was found to be 18.07%. The study further suggests that, at the observed levels, dust ac-cumulation does no significantly impact on PV system efficiency. The results will proffer solutions to start-up companies and individuals to install PV plants to meet the energy demands of the country.