Estimation Method of Photovoltaic Power Output using Extended Lambert-Beer Law

Abstract

In recent years, there have been growing needs for accurate estimation of photovoltaic (PV) power due to the widespread use of PV power generation. PV power is usually estimated based on the amount of solar radiation, air temperature, and wind velocity. However, when the PV panel is covered with snow, the solar radiation is blocked by the snow and expected PV output cannot be obtained. In this paper, for accurate PV power estimation, we propose an Extended Lambert-Beer Law, and investigate a method to estimate the degree of attenuation of PV power by snow cover. And, accuracy verification of the proposed method is carried out with actual PV power records when snow accumulates in the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) service area in 2018.