Power Quality

Power quality, or the consistency and reliability of electricity sources, is an issue of great interest to both utilities and individual electric customers. Photovoltaics offer potential benefits for both groups, but also present challenges due to their intermittent production of electricity.

Reliability of Power

Because photovoltaic systems rely on solar energy, a power source that is not always available, they produce electricity intermittently. This can presents issues for owners and utilities alike in ensuring that photovoltaics produce enough electricity to meet needs and do not produce more electricity than an individual or utility system can handle. Two solutions to this concern are the pairing of photovoltaics with other energy sources that can produce electricity at night and using batteries to store the electricity temporarily for use when the system is not running.

Matching Energy Needs

Because photovoltaics produce most of their energy during the day and produce more in the summer, their power production can be beneficial in matching energy needs in many buildings.

Particularly in the summer, air conditioners and other energy-intensive appliances are used more frequently, creating a surge in demand for electricity. This is called the summer peak, when the demand for energy reaches its highest point. Because this is also the time when photovoltaics are at their most productive, photovoltaic systems can be very practical for matching the summer peak.

Although this benefit works for many uses, there are some applications that need more power at night or even need it continuously, as in some industrial applications. In these cases, photovoltaics can still provide much of the building's electricity, but a second power source is still essential for the times when the photovoltaic system is not producing electricity.

Interaction with the Electric Grid

Photovoltaics can be used as a distributed energy resource on buildings and sites connected to the utility in areas with high demand. This approach can help reduce overall demand in high-load areas, allowing utilities to provide more reliable power to these areas as a whole. This approach to planned installation of photovoltaics in high-load areas has been explored in a number of states and is currently being reviewed in Massachusetts.

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