Levantamento do potencial fotovoltaico do Departamento de Engenharia Elétrica da Universidade Federal de Campina Grande.

Abstract

The evaluation of a region’s photovoltaic potential is extremely important for estimating the amount of electrical energy that can be produced at the site of interest. Given the need for disseminating the use of solar photovoltaic energy, this work promotes the analysis of factors that influence energy production, and further, performs an estimation of the energy production potential of the Electrical Engineering Department of the Federal University of Campina Grande (DEE-UFCG), where the studies were developed. These estimations are made through mathematical equations that model the incidence of solar radiation on the Earth's surface, which is based on the day of the year, the hour of the day, the latitude, and the position of the collecting surface. Each variable used in the model will be defined, and, through visualizations and discussions, the resulting effect caused by the most prominent of them will be highlighted. For the inspection of the photovoltaic generation potential of DEE-UFCG, three case studies were utilized: the first one has fixed collectors that are positioned to favor the production during the winter months; the second one also has fixed collectors, but favors summer production; and the third one, which adopts a system where collectors have their position adjusted twice a year, and favors both winter and summer. Additionally, real sets of irradiation data are presented, aiming to promote knowledge concerning the real characteristics of solar radiation incidence.