Rami Tariq Basha , Ayson J Qaderayeev
In this study, photovoltaic system design intuitive, numerical and analytical techniques are revised and discussed. The intuitive and numerical methods are used to design and evaluate PV system for supplying lighting for renewable energy lab in Higher Institute for Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Zwara, Libya. In the numerical techniques, two softwares are used. The average daily load demand of the test system is 1.198 kWh/day by using real weather data for Libya. HOMER software is used to design and evaluate the PV system. The results indicate that the solar energy utilization is an attractive option with net present cost of the system, and cost of energy are, 443.7 USD and 0.151 USD/kWh, respectively, in comparison with diesel generator operating cost which is 0.558 USD/kWh. It is recommended to use the PV system instead of diesel generators in rural areas in Libya, which is justified on economic grounds.
HOMER, numerical and analytical techniques, solar PV, energy cost.