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2013
Conference Paper
Titel
An economic evaluation of two alternative layout planning concepts for photovoltaic power plants
Abstract
We evaluate the economic efficiencies of two well-known planning concepts for large-scale, groundmounted photovoltaic power plants. The individual layout planning concept is based on individually placing PV tables on the land area, while the block planning concept is based on repeatedly placing pre-designed blocks, i.e., groups of one or more inverters with assigned tables arranged in a regular layout pattern. The advantage of the individual planning concept is that the available land area can be utilized to its full potential, whereas the block planning concept typically yields lower building costs due to a more regular plant design. Depending on the land area and project-specific goals, the layout planners have to weigh up which of the two planning concepts is superior. By using realistic case studies with economic efficiency calculations, we show that the superior planning concept cannot be identified on first sight, since both concepts have advantages and drawbacks of their own, strongly depending on the shape and topography of the land area and further influences.