Fanshawe College
IN-3: Innovation 3

Optimization of a Solar Power Station Currently solar power stations are unable to operate as peak power stations* as they are generally designed to convert all available sunshine into electricity which is determined by the weather as opposed to consumer demand. This project was an investigation into the feasibility of using a solar power station as a peak power supplier to the power network. This project created a control algorithm to decide the amount of power kept in the battery storage with the ultimate goal of maximizing the benefit of solar power in the energy market. This project delivered the control algorithm as the first step towards building a solar power station prototype of 3kW and to subsequently verify the power control on the prototype system. Putting it in to general terms the solar energy will be delivered to the market when the price is good or stored in the battery for future delivery when the price is appropriate as dictated by consumer and market demands. The overall goal of this project was to create a solar power station optimization/algorithm for transferring solar power to the Ontario energy grid at peak times. The research obtained in this project has been and will be used in future Fanshawe projects in the field of solar energy. *Peak power stations: adjusts power output according to consumer demand

Additional URLs https://www.fanshawec.ca/news-events/london-hydro-supports-solar-research-fanshawe http://www.myvirtualpaper.com/doc/Business-London-Magazine/november_2012/2012110701/24.html#24