How Solar Power Plant Works
The basic principle of a solar power plant is the conversion of sunlight into electricity using a material in which the electrons are energized when bombarded with photons. The most acceptable material for this purpose today is silicon.
The electricity generated from the solar modules is direct current (DC) and it is to be converted to alternating current (AC). This is done by using an inverter. The energy produced is then ready to be used for various purposes.
Solar power plants are broadly classified into two categories:
- Off-grid system
- On-grid system
An off-grid system is a standalone system and works completely independent of the grid. It uses batteries for storage of excess electricity generated during the daytime for use at night.
However, an on-grid system works in synchronization with the grid. Use of storage is optional. If the storage is used, the system first caters to the load and storage and thereafter sends additional power generated, if any, to the grid. If the storage is not used, all excess power generated is sent to the grid.
The feature of sending power back to the grid is known as net-metering. For this, a different type of meter, known as the net meter, is used, which captures the amount of power taken from and given back to the grid.
A grid tied system works only if grid power is available since it needs the grid power to synchronize the energy that it generates. But it also works in tandem with a diesel generator set. Using these two in tandem however drastically reduces the diesel consumption since the load is run mostly on the solar power plant.