Development of Modular Cooling for Water-Cooled Photovoltaic Plant in Real Scale

This chapter evaluates module architectures and units of photovoltaic cooling systems, aiming to determine, select and design a modular system that can be applied in a real-scale photovoltaic power plant (PVPP) in order to enhance the yields of electricity pro- duction (entitled cooled photovoltaic plant). An analysis of the local climatic, geographic and solar conditions as well as construction, operational and maintenance aspects was carried out. Worldwide, there are three main types of cooled photovoltaic systems: PVT liquid and air collectors, PV ventilated with heat recovery and non-PVT systems. Based on the local weather conditions (tropical warm and dry) with both temperature and solar irradiation index being high, it results the PVT-liquid system to be more suitable in a scenario with available cooling fluid. We conclude that the best design and arrangement of the cooling system are of the type coil and multiple channel because they permit better rates of heat exchange between the cooling fluid and the PV module.