Determination of photovoltaic effective capacity on local power grid

This paper investigates the effective capacity of grid-tied PV systems of different geometries on the local power grid. This statistical measure is derived experimentally from hourly system demand and power produced by two types of PV system configurations (a fixed array with 35 deg. south tilt, an a two-axis tracking system). Both the overall effective capacity over the study period and effective capacity associated with the peak load hours a derived. PV grid-penetrations ranging from 1% to 15% of utility peak have been considered.