CARE International Afghanistan

ABADEI Program

Project Report for Installation of a 100 KW Grid-connected Rooftop Project at

Ataturk Children Hospital Kabul, Afghanistan

Aug 9, 2023
Contents
Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 1
Project Site Details .................................................................................................................................. 2
Roof types and Area ............................................................................................................................ 2
Load Demand ...................................................................................................................................... 4
Current System Interconnection......................................................................................................... 4
Climat condition impact on Project .................................................................................................... 5
Weather Data ...................................................................................................................................... 5
Temperature ....................................................................................................................................... 5
Precipitation........................................................................................................................................ 5
Wind Speed ......................................................................................................................................... 6
Solar Radiation .................................................................................................................................... 6
Target Generation ................................................................................................................................... 7
System Design ......................................................................................................................................... 8
Equipment Selection/ Specification .................................................................................................. 11
Inverter Specification ........................................................................................................................ 12
Protection ............................................................................................................................................. 13
Cables & Connectors ......................................................................................................................... 15
Voltage Drop Calculation .................................................................................................................. 15
Mounting structure selection: .......................................................................................................... 16
Powerhouse and Connection Point ...................................................................................................... 18
PV Wiring Scheme ................................................................................................................................. 19
Annexures: ............................................................................................................................................ 20
Summary
The project design report is prepared for the implementation of a 100 KW Grid connected at Ataturk
Children Hospital. This report provides the detailed types of equipment to be installed during project
commissioning. Equipment manufacturers and their specification is provided in different sections of
the report. Weather data is taken from Meteonorm 7, INREL, PVGIS Sarah, and NASA, Kabul Climate to
estimate the number of sunny days, solar irradiation, and wind load. Weather data helps in calculating
the structure to be mounted to withstand wind speed, generation of the site, and the frequency of
O&M required. Target generation is calculated by using high-level software PVsyst and SAM.

To optimize the project capacity and improve the system efficiency a system is designed by looking into
various parameters of solar modules and inverter. Solar modules of 505 wp and four inverters having
a capacity of 25 KWp each are used to meet the project requirement. All the equipment used in the
project meets the international standards for the Installation of SPV.

pg. 1
Project Site Details
The project site (Latitude: 34°31'16"N, Longitude: 69° 7'58" E) is at Ataturk Children Hospital in
Kabul.

Figure 1: Satellite Image

Roof types and Area

The total useful roof area of the project site which is 964 square meters has been distributed between
one flat roof which is oriented to the south and two pitched roofs (12° tilted) of iron sheet coverage
oriented to the south/North. As the following, Figure 2 shows all three roof areas are feasible, and
they have the same roof coverage material and structure and the same roof condition, respectively.

Figure 2 Site map of ACH

pg. 2
 By excluding the covered area on the flat roof with barriers, the two solar water heaters, one water
storage, and fencing wall around the roof, which causes shadows, there is a potential capacity of 30
KW solar panels to be placed; however, the right part of the roof is used for drying clothes as shown
in figure 5. Furthermore, Block A and Block B have a potential generation capacity of 90 KW;
meanwhile, there are two trees in front of Block B and some trees on the south face of Block A case
shadows. To have good exposure, two trees in front of Block B and some branches in front of Block A
have to be terminated.

Figure 4 Block C, left side Figure 5 Block C, right side

Figure 7 Block B Figure 6 Block B

Block C

Block A

Figure 3 Block A
Figure 8 Block A

pg. 3
 Load Demand
A complete overview of the existing billing meter, its invoices for four months, the eight-month diesel
consumption of the gensets provided by the responsible person within the hospital (Electrician), and
measurement on-site an estimation of the current load have been analyzed that the average monthly
electricity consumption is around 30.55 MWh. It has been assumed that diesel genset works at a
diesel-to-electricity-efficiency of around 20%.

The resulting estimated monthly electricity consumption and estimated supply share of diesel genset
is around 2% shown in the figure 9 (as provided by genset data and electricity bills by the hospital).

As collated data shows that peak load occurs during days when there is sunlight; therefore, it is a great
option to consider a PV system without backup the generated energy will be absorbed by the load
directly. During days the load is between (60 -70 KW) but when the X-ray machine with a capacity of
30 KW is used the load for a second goes up to 100 KW. Four real measurements on two different days
in the morning and afternoon (on 23 and 31 July) have been done to estimate the daily load profile.
Electricity bills are attached in Annex V.

Max daily Load in summer = 79 KVA

Average daily Load = 40 KW

• Block A & B: 40-43 KVA

• Block C: 35-36 KVA

Monthly consumption in KWh
607.5
Day load

C
28380
A&B

30 35 40 45
KVA Grid Gen-set
Note: Block A and B are fed from a single panel
Figure 9 Energy Consumption

Current System Interconnection

Based on the provided information by the respective contact point of the hospital and site inspection
results current system interconnection, load distribution of transformers, and available genset units
are as follows.

There is a transformer having a capacity of 200KVA; 15/0.4kVA pole mounted which is connected to
all buildings within the complex as highlighted its location in Figure 2 above. Furthermore, there is a
150 KVA regulator that regulates the grid voltage when it goes down. There are three generators with
a capacity of 250KVA, 88 KVA, and 65 KVA respectively. Currently, the gen-set of 250 KVA, which is
connected via an Automatic Transformer switch-ATI (400A) to switch between grid power and
generators, is used to feed all loads during power outages. Figure 15 shows the single-line diagram of
the electrical system interconnection.

pg. 4
Climat condition impact on Project
The complete system needs to be designed to meet the given ambient conditions. This includes the
dimensioning of the inverters (DC voltages depend on the temperature of PV modules), and the
mechanical design of the mounting system (temperature, wind loads, and snow loads).

Therefore, the parameters (Amoun of rainfall, temperature variation, and, wind load and solar
Radiation) are considered for the simulation of projected generation at the site.

Weather Data
Weather data is taken from NREL and NASA and Kabul climate to know the following parameters:

Temperature
Table 1 Temperature

Month Min of Ambient Average of Ambient Max of Ambient

Temperature (C) Temperature (C)2 Temperature (C)3
January -16.483 -0.997680108 14.117
February -17.156 -1.569203869 12.997
March -8.701 5.838022849 23.175
April -7.622 8.882240278 23.843
May 4.199 17.12660484 31.818
June 4.558 20.80349444 34.333
July 6.331 22.28008199 36.419
August 10.586 22.4686371 36.415
September 5.733 18.02099444 32.137
Octorber -0.132 13.44872581 30.438
November -5.11 3.952731944 17.501
December -10.105 -0.061776882 11.165
Source: https://mapfiles.nrel.gov/data/solar/fed8eff8baf918f45145e090f1f4f8c8.zip

The months of May, June, September, and October have a nice average temperature.
Hot season/summer is in June, July, August, and September and the maximum
temperature is around 22°C and the minimum temperature goes down to – 1.56°C
On average, the warmest month is August.
On average, the coolest month is February.

Precipitation
During the year, there is little rainfall in Kabul (around 362 mm of annual precipitation). Rainfall mainly
occurs between December and May with a peak in March (88 mm). Snow can occur between
December and March. During the other months of the year, there is very little precipitation.

There is an average of around 8.7 clear sky hours per day throughout the year and around 3,175 sun
hours annually. (Wikipedia, 2023)

pg. 5
Wind Speed

Row Labels Average Speed (m/s)2

January 4.5
February 4.8
March 4.82
April 4.4
May 5.3
June 6.8
July 7.1
August 6.8
September 6.3
October 5.4
November 4.5
December 4.6
Average 5.4
Source: INREL

Source: NASA
Figure 10 Monthly Average Speed

Source: https://mapfiles.nrel.gov/data/solar/fed8eff8baf918f45145e090f1f4f8c8.zip

The region experiences wind speeds from 15 to 25 km/h with a peak in July, June, and August. The
annual average wind speed is around 19 km/h. Wind gusts can reach around 40 km/h. Occasionally
dust and sandstorms can occur throughout Afghanistan.

Solar Radiation
Several meteorological data suppliers provide information including values of solar irradiance for the
region of Kabul. The irradiance data sources Meteonorm 7, SolarGIS, PVGIS Sarah, and NASA SSE have
been reviewed and checked for plausibility.

Figure 11: Monthly long-term Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) in Kabul

pg. 6
The average annual Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI) of the project site within Kabul amounts to
1,976.3 kWh/m². The month with the highest GHI is the month of June (246.9 kWh/m²). The lowest
irradiance can be expected in January (87.7 kWh/m²)

Target Generation
The following table shows the projected generation of 100 kwp of the solar project for the ACH. The
simulated data is based on the simulation data of SAM software.

Figure 12: Targeted Energy Generation

pg. 7
System Design
Table 2: System Design

Target Parameters
Plant KW 100 D.C
Module Capacity WP 505
Total Modules Nos. 200
Actual Plant Sizing
Total Modules Nos. 200
Module Capacity WP 505
Total Plant Capacity KW 101 KW
Modules/String Nos. 12
Inverter OverLoading % 19

String Configuration
String 1 12
String 2 12
String 3 12
String 4 12
String 5 12
String 6 12
String 7 12
String 8 12
String 9 13
String 10 13
String 11 13
String 12 13
String 13 13
String 14 13
String 15 13
String 16 13

Design Calculation
Tcmax 36
Tcmin -17
ΔTmax 11
ΔTmin 42
Vmp at Tcmax 39.4
Voc at Tcmin 53.9

Standard Test Condation_STC

Irradiance (W/m2) 1000
Air Mass 1.5
Cell Temperature (°C) 25

pg. 8
 Cell Temperature at Certain Ambient temperature
Tc Tamb+(Iinc (W/m2)*(NOCT-20)/800)
Tc Cell Temperature
Tamb Ambient Temperature
Iinc Incident radiation (maximum Annual Average)
NOCT Nominal Operating Cell Temperature

Design Inputs
Tamb 30
Tamb min -4
Iinc max 1000

Design Outputs
Ns min (Inverter MPPT @Min V) 10
Ns max (Inverter MPPT @ Max V) 15
Ns Max (Maximum DC input V) 18

Inverter Parameters:

Inverter Specifications
4x Sunny Tripower-25 KW
Max AC Power Rating 25550 W
Max Input Voltage 1,000 V
Min AC Power Rating 0W
MPP voltage range/ rated input voltage 390 to 800/ 600
Start input Voltage 150/188
Number of MPPTs 2
Strings Per MPPT 2

MPPT Configuration

MPPT String Modules Capacity Vmp Imp VoC Isco

Configuration
String 12 6060 472.8 12.17 630.48 12.89
MPPT 1 1
String 2 12 6060 472.8 12.17 630.48 12.89
Total 2 24 12,120 472.8 24.34 630.48 25.78
Inverter A
String 12 6060 472.8 12.17 630.48 12.89
MPPT2 3
String 4 12 6060 472.8 12.17 630.48 12.89
Total 2 24 12,120 472.8 24.34 630.48 25.78
Total/ Inveter 4 48 24,240 472.8 48.68 630.48 51.56
String 12 6060 472.8 12.17 630.48 12.89
MPPT 3 5
Inverter B
String 6 12 6060 472.8 12.17 630.48 12.89
Total 2 24 12,120 472.8 24.34 630.48 25.78

pg. 9
 String 12 6060 472.8 12.17 630.48 12.89
MPPT 4 7
String 8 12 6060 472.8 12.17 630.48 12.89
Total 2 24 12,120 472.8 24.34 630.48 25.78
Total/ Inveter 4 48 24,240 472.8 48.68 630.48 51.56
String 13 6565 512.2 12.17 683 12.89
9
MPPT 1
String 13 6565 512.2 12.17 683 12.89
10
Total 2 26 13,130 512.2 24.34 683 25.78
Inverter D String 13 6565 512.2 12.17 683 12.89
11
MPPT2
String 13 6565 512.2 12.17 683 12.89
12
Total 2 26 512.2 24.34 683 25.78 25.78
Total/ Inveter 4 52 26,260 512.2 48.68 683 51.56
String 13 6565 512.2 12.17 683 12.89
13
MPPT 1
String 13 6565 512.2 12.17 683 12.89
14
Total 2 26 13,130 512.2 24.34 683 25.78
Inverter C String 13 6565 512.2 12.17 683 12.89
15
MPPT2
String 13 6565 512.2 12.17 683 12.89
16
Total 2 26 13,130 512.2 24.34 683 25.78
Total/ Inveter 4 52 26,260 512.2 48.68 683 51.56

Design Results:

Max. Input Current Per MPPT is about 26A which is near to the rated input current of 33A suitable
for higher efficiency.

The rated Voltage of stings is 630-683 V which is in mid of the voltage input range and near 600 V

Energy Yield simulation and shading analysis are presented in Annexure-I & Annexure-II

pg. 10
Equipment Selection/ Specification
Module Characteristics

pg. 11
Inverter Specification

pg. 12
Protection
The system should be provided with all necessary protections like earthing and lightning protection,
surge as described below

For Effective Protection against Surges caused due to, Direct Lightning Strike, Indirect Lightning
Strike, Switching Surges, type 1 SPD and type 2 SPD shall be used.

Earthing protection
• Each array structure of the PV yard, earthing grid for the switchyard, all electrical equipment,
inverter, all junction boxes, etc. shall be grounded properly as per IS 3043-2018 or NEC 250
• DC input negative earthing function shall be provided to prevent potential induced
degradation (PID).
• All metal casing/ shielding of the plant shall be thoroughly grounded in accordance with CEA
Safety Regulation 2010. In addition, the lightning arrester/masts should also be earthed
inside around buildings.
• Earth resistance should be as low as possible and shall never be higher than 5 ohms.
Lighting protection
• The SPV system shall be provided with lightning & and over-voltage protection, if required.
The main aim of this protection shall be to reduce the overvoltage to a tolerable value before
it reaches the PV or other sub-system components. The source of overvoltage can be
lightning, atmosphere disturbances, etc.
• The entire space occupying the SPV array shall be suitably protected against Lightning by
deploying the required number of Lightning Arrestors (LAs).
• The current-carrying cable from the lightning arrestor to the earth pit should have sufficient
current carrying capacity according to IEC 62305. According to the standard, the minimum
requirement for a lightning protection system designed for the class of LPS III is 6 mm2
copper/ 16 mm2 aluminum.
• The existing lighting protection of the buildings may be used, but a reassessment of the same
is to be carried out before commissioning of the system.

As the Global Lighting Density Map

shows Afghanistan has lowest
lighting strike event which is 0.8
event/Km2/year, therefore, class IV
of lighting protection system to be
considered (the distance between
masts is 20 m)

Source: https://interactive-lightning-
map.vaisala.com/

pg. 13
 Figure 13: Earthing system

Figure 14 : Earthing system sample

pg. 14
Cables & Connectors
Cable size

• DC Cables: Copper cable with a Size of 10mm2 cross-sectional area.

• A.C cables: 4x25mm2 copper cable
• DC Cables

Wiring schedule
No Cable Type Cable Size Cable Material Tentative Length
1 DC Cable 1C*10mm Copper 1300 m
2 AC Cable 1C* 4x 25mm Copper 50 m
3 Earthing 1C*16mm Bare Copper 100 m

Voltage Drop Calculation

The following are the estimated voltage drop:

• DC Side
• AC Side

DC Side Voltage Drop Estimation:

To calculate Voltage Drop, the longest string DC cable from the powerhouse is considered for the
project:

Sring Number Black Cable (m) Red Cable (m)

String 1 40 20
Total
Total Lenth of cable 60
Average Length of cable/ string (2 lops) 30

Input Data
Cable length 60m
Cable sectional area 10 m㎡
Operating current 12.17A
Operating voltage 512.2 V
Specific Resistivity of Copper 1.81*10-8 Ω-m
Calculation Result
Cable resistance R=ρ L/S 0.1 Ω
Voltage drop V=I*R 1.217 V
Voltage Drop/ the loss on cable/ % 0.237 %

AC Side Voltage Drop Estimation:

The AC side voltage drop estimation is based on the following assumptions:

Input Data
Cable length 20 m

pg. 15
 Cable sectional area 4x25 m㎡
System type 3Phase
Operating current 140A
Operating voltage 400 V
Specific Resistivity of Copper 1.81*10-8 Ω-m
Calculation Result
Cable resistance R=ρ L/S 0.144 Ω
Voltage drop V=I*R 14 V
Voltage Drop/ the loss on cable/ % 1.2 %

Results:

• Voltage drop at DC side at design parameters: 0.237%

• Voltage drop at AC side at design parameters: 1.2%
The above results are well within the permissible limit of 2% on each side.

Mounting structure selection:

Module Mounting Structure is fixed type

• Main Material: The structural elements shall consist of anodized aluminum, galvanized steel
as per ASTM A123/A 123M
• The supporting structure incl. PV modules must be capable of handling the maximum gust
speed of up to 100 Km/hour
• The mounting structures must be earthed for maximum short-circuit current and lightning
protection
• Foundation: Concrete
• No. of foundations per frame: 6
• No. of modules per frame: 8
• Total no. of frames: 26
• Distance between Columns: 2.71. m x 1.93 m
• Tilt Angle: 28°

PV Azimut Intrarow Frame Frames

Name Racking Tilt Modules Power
orientation h spacing Size
Fixed 52.5
Block A Vertical 28 174 4.9 2x4 9+4 104
Tilt KW
Fixed 32.3
Block B Vertical 28 174 4.9 2x4 8 64
Tilt KW
Fixed 4x(2x3), 15.15
Block C Horizontal 28 174 2.25 5 32
Tilt 1x(2x4) KW

pg. 16
Note: Detailed frame layout and solar panels layout are attached as Annexure-III Annexure-VI

Structure & Module Weight

No Particular UoM Value

1 Weight of One Frame Kg. 23
2 Weight of one Module 30
Total load of frame/Unite Area
3 Total Area/ frame m2 1.4
4 Total Load/m2 Kg./m2 32

The density of snow varies from 50 kg/m3 to 900kg/m3 depending upon the degree of compaction.
Here assumed that snow has 200 kg/m3 density. For 30 cm of snow in height, the total snow load will
be approx. 66 kg/m2.

Wind Load Calculation

Wind speed: 100 km/ hour or 27.8 m/sec

K1: 1.0 (for 50 years of Life considered)
K2: 1.05 (for 20m height and Category-2)
K3: 1.0 (plane Terrain)
Design wind speed = 27.8 x 1 x 1.05 x 1.0 = 29.2 m/sec
Designed Wind pressure = 0.6 x (29.2)2 = 511.1 N/m2 or 52 kg/m2.

Figure 15 : PV module structure

pg. 17
Powerhouse and Connection Point
Based on the information provided by the electrician and site inspection, two rooms are available
within the complex for Inverters and boxes to be placed. One room with a dimension of 6x8 meters is
on the first floor of block B and the other room which has a dimension of 3x4 is on the first floor of
block C. In this design, the room within block B is considered a powerhouse due to the grid power
coming to this building, where the regulation_150 KVA, generator connections (250 KVA and 65 KVA),
and Automatic switch exist in one room, and power is distributed to other buildings. Additionally, this
room has a shorter distance from PV panels to reduce cable loss. The system will be connected after
the regulator to feed produced energy during the day. The below single-line diagram -SLD shows the
PV system connection with the existing electrical system.

Figure 16: Electrical System interconnection

pg. 18
PV Wiring Scheme

50
m
m

pg. 19
Annexes:
Annex-I helioscope_simulation_ACH_KBL_summary
Annex-II helioscope_shading_ACH_KBK_summary
Annex-III Solar Panels layout
Annex-IV Frame layout.
Annex-V Electricity bills and generators specification

pg. 20