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Evaluation of the Monitored Data from a Grid-Connected Photovoltaic System
at Nunavut Arctic College, Iqaluit, NWT (Canada)

Didier Thevenard
Numerical Logics Inc.

Lisa Dignard, Sylvain Martel, Michael Ross, and Dave Turcotte
CANMET Energy Diversification Research Laboratory

Sharon Troke
Nunavut Research Institute

Full Text of Article
Link to Numerical Logics, Inc.
Link to CETC-Varennes
Link to Nunavut Research Institute
Link to Nunavut Arctic College
Link to SESCI (conference)

Note on Authorship:

This article was jointly authored by Dr. Didier Thevenard of Numerical Logics Inc.; Dr. Lisa Dignard, Sylvain Martel and Dave Turcotte of the CANMET Energy Diversification Research Laboratory (now known as CETC-Varennes); Michael M.D. Ross, formerly of the CANMET Energy Diversification Research Laboratory and now principal of RER Renewable Energy Research; and Sharon Troke, of the Nunavut Research Institute.

Citation:

Thevenard, Didier, Lisa Dignard, Sylvain Martel, Michael Ross, Dave Turcotte and Sharon Troke. "Evaluation of the Monitored Data from a Grid-Connected Photovoltaic System at Nunavut Arctic College, Iqaluit, NWT (Canada)". Renewable Energy Technologies in Cold Climates: Proceedings of the 24th Annual Conference of the Solar Energy Society of Canada, Montréal, Québec, Canada: May 4-6, 1998, pp. 263-268.

Abstract:

In July of 1995, a 3.2 kWp photovoltaic system was installed on the southern facade of the Nunavut Arctic College in Iqaluit, NWT, near the Arctic circle. The project had two principal objectives: first, to publicize photovoltaics as a viable power source in the eastern Arctic, and second, to document the long-term performance of a grid-tied photovoltaic system in the Northwest Territories.

This paper presents a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of the system in its first two years of operation. Climatic and solar radiation conditions at the site are reviewed, and the performance of all the components of the system (PV array, maximum power point tracker, inverter) is analyzed. Energy delivered to the grid and overall system efficiency are also analyzed on a monthly and hourly basis.

Hourly simulations with WATSUN-PV, a photovoltaic system simulation software developed by the University of Waterloo, are done to analyze PV module temperature and to compare actual with theoretical system performance. Discrepancies between simulation and monitored data are evaluated.