With the explosive growth in PV (photovoltaic) installations globally, the sector continues to benefit from important improvements in manufacturing technology and the increasing efficiency of solar cells. this timely handbook brings together all the latest design, layout and construction methods for entire PV plants in a single volume. Coverage includes procedures for the design of both stand-alone and grid-connected systems as well as practical guidance on typical operational scenarios and problems encountered for optimum PV plant performance. Key features:

• plant energy yield results from the author's own operational experience, with tables showing the measuring results of long-term monitoring data of up to 18 years and normalized representation of energy yield/production
• a discussion of the solar resource worldwide
• detailed treatment of the design and operation of solar cells for the reader to appreciate possible technical developments and improvements in the future
• a description of PV plant components such as solar modules, solar generators, accumulators, charge controllers and inverters, with emphasis on their optimum co-operation in the entire PV system in order to obtain the maximum possible energy yield and reliability
• in-depth coverage of the principles of lightning and overvoltage protection of PV plants
• guidelines on how to calculate the yield of grid-connected PV plants and the data needed for the calculations used in man locations across Europe, Africa, North and South America, Asia and Australia
• problems and solutions for engineers and advanced students to test their knowledge

This comprehensive resource will benefit electrical engineer and other electrical professionals in PV systems, especially designers and installers of PV plants or the product manufacturing and testing supply chain. Advanced students on renewable energy courses will find this useful background reading and it will be an invaluable desk reference for PV plant builders and owners.