Wind Tunnel Tests for BAPV Installations in Patagonia, Argentina

Photovoltaic Electricity Generation has been known in Argentina since the 1970s. Its development came with PHILIPS through a state-private company (FAPESA) during the 1970s and 1980s. Then the fast electronic industrial developments in Asia (Japan, Korea, and China) displaced or reduced in economic terms the other companies. There have been two lines of work in Argentina. The first one is manufacturing. A state-provincial company of San Juan is the first and most advanced not only in producing solar farms but the silicon wafer to make PV cells. The second is selling PV panels which has been increased in the last 10 years (from some kW to tens of MW), lowering the price of PV panels per W/m2. This, for the Argentine domestic market, represents half the cost W/m2 of small wind power. Meteorological data and installed capacity of PV projects in Argentina from residential ones (some kW to tens of kW) to big Solar PV Farms (tens of MW) are presented in this chapter. Particularly an example of application of BAPV system of hundreds of kW is shown, required by First Cooperative Fruit of General Roca (FCFGR). Since 2010, building model tests for Wind and PV installations have been required to Environmental Fluids Dynamic Laboratory (EFDiLa at FENUCo). This requirement is due to the existing strong wind and gusts on Patagonia region and the excellent solar radiation during spring, summer, and autumn. From 2018 to 2020 the research group of EFDiLa studied a BAPV installation of 300 kW which will be able to reach 1,2 MW in the future. The facility is located in Stefenelli industrial park, Río Negro. This project, required by FCFGR, consists in reducing energy use from grid, particularly during the classification and packaging of fruits from December to May. FCFGR has an area of shed roofs which is about 10,000 m2. This surface can be possibly used to place PV panels. These sheds have two types of roofs: parabolic, built 40 years ago, and flat, built 8 years ago. Two models for these two roofs were made to test in wind tunnel. The parabolic roof model was built at scale 1: 40 and the other, at a scale of 1:50. Also simulations with CFD of installation of PV panels were made. These simulations showed a detailed behavior of the wind for both cases.