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Localized Spectral Analysis of Fluctuating Power Generation from Solar Energy Systems

EURASIP Journal on Advances in Signal Processing volume 2007, Article number: 080919 (2007) Cite this article

Abstract

Fluctuations in solar irradiance are a serious obstacle for the future large-scale application of photovoltaics. Occurring regularly with the passage of clouds, they can cause unexpected power variations and introduce voltage dips to the power distribution system. This paper proposes the treatment of such fluctuating time series as realizations of a stochastic, locally stationary, wavelet process. Its local spectral density can be estimated from empirical data by means of wavelet periodograms. The wavelet approach allows the analysis of the amplitude of fluctuations per characteristic scale, hence, persistence of the fluctuation. Furthermore, conclusions can be drawn on the frequency of occurrence of fluctuations of different scale. This localized spectral analysis was applied to empirical data of two successive years. The approach is especially useful for network planning and load management of power distribution systems containing a high density of photovoltaic generation units.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 3E sa, Rue du Canal 61, Brussels, 1000, Belgium

    Achim Woyte

  2. Departement Elektrotechniek, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 10, Leuven, 3001, Belgium

    Ronnie Belmans & Johan Nijs

  3. Photovoltech sa, Grijpenlaan 18, Tienen, 3300, Belgium

    Johan Nijs

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  1. Achim Woyte
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  2. Ronnie Belmans
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  3. Johan Nijs
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Correspondence to Achim Woyte.

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Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 International License (https://doi.org/creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Woyte, A., Belmans, R. & Nijs, J. Localized Spectral Analysis of Fluctuating Power Generation from Solar Energy Systems. EURASIP J. Adv. Signal Process. 2007, 080919 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1155/2007/80919

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