The quest for alternative energy sources, replacing the environmentally impacting fossil fuels, has resulted in the growing need to develop various new strategies in the field of renewable energies. A possible energy source is clean solar energy. The most common technology used is a silicon semiconductor device, which generates electrical output while interacting with light, known as Photo-Voltaic (PV) System. The reliability of PV modules and systems is critical to the commercial success of Photovoltaic systems. The technology combines multiple components, each of which could cause a system failure or energy losses. The reliability characterization measurements of a PV power system are complicated and only a few studies succeeded to design and simulate an efficient PV system. In the current study, two relatively large-scale solar farms were designed with an output of 20 MW. A comparison of the solar farms' performances was conducted, with an emphasis on the reliability indices of the systems. The obtained reliability indices are 83% and 88% for the studied solar farms.

The necessity for alternative energy sources, instead of consumable energy, led to the development of various methods in the field of renewable energies. A possible energy source is solar energy. The most common technology used is a silicon semiconductor device, which generates electrical output on interaction with light, known as Photovoltaic System (PV). The reliability of PV modules and systems is critical to the commercial success of Photovoltaic systems. The technology combining multiple components, each of which could cause a system failure or energy losses. The reliability characterization measurements of a PV power system are complicated and only a few studies succeeded to design and simulate an efficient PV system. In the current study, two solar farms were designed with an output of 20 MW. A comparison of the solar farms' performances was conducted, with an emphasis on the reliability indices of the systems. The calculations of the reliability of indices shows a reliability between 83%-88% for two farms.

The reliability associated costs are the main part of total life cycle cost for any repairable system. The paper presents the history of life cycle cost analysis, its principles and applicable standards. It analyzes the reasons behind the contradiction between the great theoretical achievements and their relatively rare applications in practice. It was shown that incorrect management is the main reason. Measures for management improvement were suggested.

To ensure a given level of reliability of energy supply, distribution networks should be configured in such a way that each load point may be supplied from alternative sources. The method proposed in this paper is aimed at designing such distribution systems with minimal feeder length, energy losses and load imbalance between transformers, subject to voltage drop and capacity constraints. The method is based on the biologically inspired genetic algorithm (GA). Basic GA procedures adapted to the given problem are presented and five versions of the GA are compared. Test results are reported which demonstrate that the chosen version of the proposed algorithm outperforms a heuristic procedure proposed previously.

This paper presents an economics based model of sectionalizer allocation in single radial feeder distribution systems. The model considers both cost of energy losses and capital investment in the sectionalizer installation. The cases when sectionalizers are not fully reliable and when they may cause additional short-circuits are investigated. To solve the problem of optimal sectionalizer allocation a genetic algorithm based procedure is developed. An illustrative example is presented.