Locating Utility-Scale PV Plants in Power System: Case Study of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Numerous countries around the globe have decided to reduce their CO2 emissions by considering solar energy technologies for their power generation. Several large-scale PV (LSPV) power plant projects are growing every year. A gigawatt scale has now been introduced in China. Additionally, there is no standard yet found for the design of large-scale PV. One of the purposes of this study is to introduce the most important aspects of designing the LSPV. The aim of this study is to evaluate and identify the best location for large-scale PV plants by using a geographical information system (GIS) technique. Climatic, environmental, and spatial factor areas are considered for producing the GIS map. The result shows that there are huge areas that can be exploited for harvesting energy in Saudi Arabia. The GIS mapping method has many advantages for planning. It enables analysis of terrain for successful planning as well as helps to determine the most popular location for PV farms.