An Estimation Method of Photovoltaics Power Output Utilizing Integral Power Consumption and Solar Radiation Intensity

There is a growing need to use photovoltaic (PV) technology to mitigate global warming and the depletion of fossil fuels while also enhancing energy security. However, the high network penetration of PVs has various negative effects on electrical power systems. In recent years, automated operating systems have been introduced to enable rapid and automatic restoration after a power outage. However, PVs shut down in the case of a power outage and are not automatically restored. Therefore, it is necessary to compensate the electric power output of the PVs by using an extra power supply at the time of power recovery. For this compensation process, it is necessary for a system operator to monitor the unmeasurable power output of the PVs, including those belonging to other organizations and individuals, to ensure that the automated operating system is used properly. Based on these aspects, in this paper, we proposed an estimation method of PVs power output utilizing integral power consumption data obtained from smart meters and solar radiation intensity, and demonstrated the accuracy of the proposed method using measured data. © 2023 The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan.