Correlation between Photovoltaic Energy Production and Certain Climate Parameters: Case Study in the Plateau Department in Southern Benin

Abstract

The Plateau department, where the first 25 MWp grid-connected solar plant was installed, is also an industrial cement zone, with high-energy demand, located in the south of Benin. In this region, the equatorial climate oscillated between two dry and two rainy seasons, with a high relative humidity. This climate variability influences the electrical output of photovoltaic (PV) modules. The analysis of the impact of climatic parameters such as relative humidity, precipitation, wind speed, ambient temperature, sunshine, on the photovoltaic production becomes necessary to optimize the energy generation in such a region. The objective of this study is to quantify the dependency relationship that exists between the variability of these parameters and the PV power generation using Pearson correlation method. The daily data collected for each parameter during the period from January 2011 to December 2020 were processed with Python 3.7.10 language. The results showed that relative humidity, with an average value of 80.14%, is the climatic has the highest negative impact (correlation coefficient of -0.42) on the performance of PV modules. Thus, the design and operation of a PV plant in this area should consider this parameter, especially with dust deposits, to improve the production yield.