Design, Simulation, and Analysis of a Solar Carport (Case Study: The Parking Lot of Tarbiat Modares University, Faculty of Agriculture)

Iran is one of the countries with a radiation potential that is very suitable for the construction of solar carports. Considering the high initial cost of constructing these parking lots, the importance of their feasibility and optimal design is very high. In the present study, the design and simulation of a solar carport connected to the power grid that was implemented at the Faculty of Agriculture of Tarbiat Modares University (TMU) in Tehran was carried out. For this purpose, the photovoltaic system was calculated in PVsyst software considering the geographical location and weather conditions of Tehran. In this case, the optimal side angle for installing the photovoltaic modules on the parking lot was set at 35 degrees to maximize the annual electricity production. Then, in determining the type and model of the photovoltaic modules and the solar inverter, their optimal electrical arrangement was designed. In addition, the losses of the various parts of the system were calculated, including the losses caused by shading, temperature rise, connecting wires, and so on; besides, the optimal spacing and arrangement of the modules were presented. Based on the final results of the simulation, the amount of electricity generated by the parking lot was 48.2 MWh/year; the annual power factor was 0.791; the reduction rate of CO2 production was 499.89 tons in a total of 30 years, and the sensitivity analysis and lower return on investment were calculated from 5 years onwards. The results of this study showed that the implementation of the project at the investigated site was economically justified in addition to the benefit of providing renewable electricity.