Optimal Renewable Resources Mix for Energy Loss Minimization in Distribution Network-Case Study

This paper provides a case-study about an optimal mix of renewable energy sources in Mazoon Electricity Company (MZEC) network in Al Ashkharah-Oman. The system performance is analyzed in terms of voltage profile and power losses for various scenarios after building a power flow model using available network data. To reduce system power losses, candidate locations and their optimal sizes of distributed generation (DG) units are determined using the optimization toolbox offered by MATLAB©. The optimal renewable mix is obtained with the help of HOMER PRO© software

Harmonics Temporal Profile in High-Voltage Networks: Case Study

This chapter presents a case study about harmonics measurements in high-voltage networks. Measurements were conducted at two locations in the main interconnected system (MIS) of Oman. Voltage and current THDs were recorded for a period of 1 week. The power quality analyzer was set to record required data for a period of 1 week, and the observation period for each recorded value is 10 minutes. At the first location, the grid station (132/33) is feeding industrial as well as other customers. The second grid station (220/132/33 kV) is dedicated to large industrial customers including arc furnaces and rolling mills. The power quality analyzer was installed at the 132 kV side of power transformers at both locations. Recorded data are analyzed, and temporal harmonics profiles are studied. A clear temporal variation of harmonics similar to that of aggregate load and local voltage profiles was observed at the grid station feeding mixed residential and industrial loads. However, this correlation between system load and harmonics profile diminishes at the grid station dedicated for heavy industrial loads

Experimental Study on the Effect of Dust Deposition on a Car Park Photovoltaic System with Different Cleaning Cycles

For a decade, investments in solar photovoltaic (PV) systems have been increasing exponentially in the Middle East. Broadly speaking, these investments have been facing tremendous challenges due to the harsh weather in this particular part of the world. Dust accumulation is one the challenges that negatively affects the performance of solar PV systems. The overall goal of this paper is to thoroughly investigate the effect of dust accumulation on the energy yield of car park PV systems. With this aim in mind, the paper presents scientific values for further research and opens the horizon for attracting further investments in solar PV systems. This study is based on a real PV system in the Sultanate of Oman and considers different cleaning cycles for 16 months (from 29 July 2018 to 10 November 2019). Furthermore, four different PV groups were assessed, and the system was monitored under different cleaning frequencies. In general, it was found that dust accumulation has a significant impact; under 29-day, 32-day, 72-day, and 98-day cleaning cycles, the average percentages of energy loss due to soiling were 9.5%, 18.2%, 31.13%, and 45.6%, respectively. In addition, the dust effect has a seasonal variation. The study revealed that dust accumulation has a more negative impact during summer than during winter. During summer, the energy losses due to soiling were 8.7% higher than those during winter. The difference was attributed to different environmental conditions, with high humidity and low wind speed being the main factors that worsen the impact of dust during summer. Based on the findings of this research, a monthly cleaning program is highly recommended in the city of Muscat