1 MWp grid connected PV systems in the village of Kayubihi Bali; Review on location's characteristics and its technical specifications

Abstract

Bali is one of the small islands in Indonesia with total land area of 6,800 square kilometers and with population of around four million people. The island's economy is mainly driven by its tourism industry that leads to annual growth of 6.8%. The life and economy is supported by electric power system with 696 MW generating capacity but at peak time already operating at 679 MW which forces industries to operate their own captive powers. This condition requires swift and effective response from the authority to improve the generating capacity of the local power system so it can continue to support the regional development. Bali has no fossil based resources hence fuel for the power plants need to be externally sourced but with the dwindling capacity of the nation's conventional energy resources together with the prospect of global warming therefore solution has been directed on renewable generation. As tropical island which is in close vicinity of the equator line, Bali has abundant quantity of sun power. The sun insolation index is estimated between 5 to 6 kWh per square meter everyday. And also, photovoltaic system is suited for urgent power demand as it can be built in relatively short time and with advantage of being environmentally friendly. These general facts have led to to the installation of 1 MWp grid connected photovoltaic systems in the village of Kayubihi by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Sources. The system is currently the largest PV system in Indonesia and connected to the 20 kV distribution network. The report presented on this paper is the review on natural and social characteristics of the location and technical specification of the hardware system. This information are useful in analyzing performance of the photovoltaic system particularly on energy production, reliability of system and components, tariff calculation and investment, as well as developing model for the running of remote PV system based on partnership between local government and university.