A Solar PV System installed at the Preysal Service Station in Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago: The National Energy of Trinidad and Tobago has installed a Solar PV System at the – Preysal Service Station. This is the first-of-its-kind Solar Photovoltaic (PV) system. 

This system includes – 320 solar panels, Inverters, Batteries, Electrical cabling/wiring, Cable trays, Charge controllers, Mounting racks for the panels, Power control units, Temperature sensors, Weather sensors. 

A battery bank has been designed to provide power autonomy for 24-hrs System performance and monitoring units.   

What is Solar Photovoltaic (PV) system? –

A photovoltaic (PV) system comprises one or more – solar panels combined with an inverter and the other electrical and mechanical hardware that use energy from the – Sun to generate electricity. 

PV systems can vary significantly in size from a small rooftop or portable systems to large utility-scale generation plants.

How does this system work? 

The light from the Sun, which is made up of packets of energy called – photons, falls onto a ‘solar panel’ and creates an electric current via a process that is called the ‘photovoltaic effect’. 

Every panel produces a comparatively small amount of energy but can be joined together with the other panels to provide higher amounts of energy as a – solar array. The electricity generated from a solar panel (or array) is in the form of a direct current (DC). 

Although numerous electronic devices use the DC electricity, which also includes – ones’ phone or ones’ laptop, they are designed to work using the – electrical utility grid, which provides (and needs) alternating current – (AC). 

Therefore, in order for the ‘solar electricity to be useful, it must first be converted from a – DC to AC using an inverter. This ‘AC electricity’ from the inverter can then be utilized to power electronics locally or be sent to the electrical grid for use elsewhere.