Resource: The hours of sunshine in Lombok
is higher than on many of the other Indonesian islands. The average daily solar
energy received on a horizontal surface (GHI) in Lombok vary from 3.3 to 5.6
kWh/m2 , the lowest being on the volcano Rinjani, and the highest being on the South and
East coast and the most Northern coast of Lombok.
Utilisation: We assume that the modules of the solar
PV plant will be installed with a fixed tilt of 10° and a DC/AC ratio of 1.1. A
DC/AC ratio larger than one means that the PV array’s DC rating is higher than
the inverter’s AC rating. This increases inverter utilisation,
although it also results in some PV energy curtailment during the sunniest
periods when PV output exceeds the inverter’s capacity. The prices of PV
modules have dropped more rapidly than the prices of the inverters, therefore
many developers have found it economically advantageous to oversize their PV
module surface. The additional harvest in the off-peak period more than offsets
the losses from the curtailment. This design results in 1800 full load hours at
the chosen site.
The most suitable land to acquire for
solar PV plants is rice fields, which are relatively flat, and also assessed to
be possible to purchase to less on a long-term basis. A potential site is
assessed to be suitable just south of Lombok International Airport. The site
will cover an area of 20-30 ha. The site is chosen due to the substation
location at Sengkol,
just south of the airport - a substation which has just been extended in 2018.
It is assessed to be technically feasible, since in the same area a 5 MW solar
PV plant is being commissioned
