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DEMONSTRATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND DEMAND-SIDE MANAGEMENT BENEFITS OF GRID-CONNECTED PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER SYSTEMS
Citation:
Kern Jr., E. AND D. Greenberg. DEMONSTRATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND DEMAND-SIDE MANAGEMENT BENEFITS OF GRID-CONNECTED PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER SYSTEMS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/R-96/130 (NTIS 97-117618), 1996.
Impact/Purpose:
information
Description:
The report gives results of an investigation of the pollutant emission reduction and demand-side management potential of 16 photovoltaic (PV) systems installed across the U.S. in 1993 and 1994. The investigation was sponsored by the U.S. EPA and 11 electric utilities. The report presents analyses of each system's ability to offset emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, and particulates, and to provide power during peak load hours for the individual host building and the utility. Results of simulations of battery storage systems powered by each PV system is also presented. The analysis indicates a very broad range in the systems' abilities to offset pollutant emissions, due to variation in the solar resource available and the marginal emission rates of the participating utilities. Use of dispatchable storage would reduce emission offsets due to energy losses in charging and discharging the batteries. Each system's ability to reduce building peak load depended on the correlation of that load to the available solar resource. Most systems operated in excess of 50% of their capacity during peak load hours. Similarly, many systems operated above 50% of their capacity during utility peak load hours in the summer months, but at very low level during winter peak hours.