Performance Investigation Based on Vital Factors of Agricultural Feeder Supported by Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant †.

Solar photovoltaic (SPV) installations are growing in the distribution network due to the continuously decreasing prices of solar photovoltaic panels. Installing the SPV Plant on the distribution feeder supplying to the agricultural pumps is a challenging task due to the varying agricultural load pattern of the Agricultural Feeder (AG Feeder). Supply of power and demand creates potential challenges in the low voltage (LV) distribution system. This paper presents a case study of a 2 MW SPV connected to an agricultural feeder in India. Performance analysis has been carried out using field measurement data. The key parameters such as PV Penetration and Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) are calculated for analysis. Parameters such as Grid Dependency of the load and PV Contribution have been introduced in this paper, which relates to the SPV system behavior more aptly. It is recommended that the Time of Day (ToD) metering with the lowest cost during the solar generation hours will make agricultural consumers shift their demand matching with solar generation hours. Extensive analysis of agricultural feeder connected SPV power plant indicates that the power supply has improved for the feeder during winter and summer months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]