Author(s)

Toussaint Tilado Guingane^1,2, Eric Korsaga², Sosthène Tassembedo², Rene Ouedraogo²

¹Physics UFR/SEA, Materials and Environment Laboratory (LAME), Pr. Joseph Ki ZERBO University, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
²Physics UFR/ST, Science and Technology Laboratory (LaST), Thomas SANKARA University, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Photovoltaic solar energy is still in its infancy in Burkina Faso, despite the country’s high solar potential. The electricity grid is experiencing an increase in demand for energy, creating a shortfall in supply. The Zagtouli photovoltaic solar power plant in Burkina Faso is the first milestone in the development of renewable photovoltaic energy, with a rated output of 33.6 Megawatts peak, to strengthen the electricity grid by reducing hydrocarbon consumption. The aim of this work is to evaluate the performance of the plant by proposing a performance score for the Zagtouli plant, which should provide a basis for assessing the performance of a power plant. To meet the objectives, we collected data for three consecutive years of production, from 2019 to 2021. From this data, we used the method based on the calculation of the performance indicators specified by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and described in the standardised norms IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) CEI61724, and we also carried out a performance classification using the K-Means method. It is clear that with the results obtained for the PR performance index (over 70%), the installation can be classified as one of the best-performing systems. It also emerges that various losses (temperatures on the panels, cabling, partial shading, spectral losses, dirt, and unexpected inverter failures) have a negative impact on the installation’s energy production.

Solar Energy, Solar Power Plant, Climatic Parameters, Performance, Classification

Guingane, T. , Korsaga, E. , Tassembedo, S. and Ouedraogo, R. (2024) Determination of the Performance Scores of a Photovoltaic Power Plant Connected to the Grid: The Zagtouli Photovoltaic Power Plant in Burkina-Faso. Advances in Materials Physics and Chemistry, 14, 264-272. doi: 10.4236/ampc.2024.1411019.