Contribuições à manutenção elétrica na usina solar fotovoltaica do IFPE - Campus Garanhuns

Abstract

The main objective of this final undergraduate project was the development and implementation of an electrical maintenance plan for the photovoltaic power plant of IFPE – Garanhuns Campus, aimed at improving the system’s energy performance and promoting practical actions of inspection, cleaning, and operational monitoring. From the analysis of the plant’s current operation, several issues were identified, such as the absence of real-time monitoring, inoperative inverters, soiling of the modules, and the lack of regular maintenance practices. To address these, irradiance measurements with a pyranometer, electrical tests, and comparisons between the projected generation (with PR = 0.80) and the actual measured generation were performed. The cleaning of two strings resulted in a 1.63% efficiency increase, which, when projected for the entire plant, represents a potential gain. As a practical contribution, a maintenance plan was developed, including periodicity tables, inspection forms, and operational recommendations, along with the proposal to reuse available inverters from the laboratory and involve students in the maintenance process, thus integrating the initiative into the educational context. The results demonstrate that the adoption of systematic maintenance practices can significantly increase the plant’s generation levels and reduce electricity costs for the campus.