Analysis of system performance indices of PV generator in a cloudburst precinct

North-east (N-E) India is one of the most biodiverse and monsoon prone zones of the world. In recent times the Government of India has taken special initiative to disseminate photovoltaic (PV) power systems in N-E India to illuminate thousands of far-flung villages where supply of grid electricity is either extremely challenging or technically unfeasible. Annual per capita energy consumption of the region is merely a third of the national average and almost zilch compared to the developed nations' energy consumptions. The paper explores the possible electrical performance of the PV generator in terms of normalized representation of energy and power for each state of the region. The average daily array yields and final yields for the region as a whole are found to be 2.78-4.50 kWh/kWp and 2.49-4.04 kWh/kWp, respectively. Performance ratio ranges from 61.38% to 83.06% with a mean annual of 70%. The average value of diffused to global solar radiation of the region is found to be 42.87%. Normalized indices with satellite solar radiation are validated with that of the estimated one by the Angstrom-Prescott regression model through statistical analysis which shows a good correlation and acceptable error between the two methods. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.