Hi

Please see these links:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0038092X84800377

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261911002418

http://atarazanas.sci.uma.es/docs/articulos/16723363.pdf

Dear JP

i saw this invention the other day. You can also trace the patent citations for similar projects and developments:

https://www.google.com/patents/WO2013120923A1

Gerro

I'm not aware of any papers off the top of my head, but most solar contractors will probably be able to give you a sense of the issues.

For the systems we build 40-50deg north latitude snow cover is of course an issue for performance. Generally where you have a power grid it is difficult to make solar financially attractive however the price has dropped by more than 50% in the US in the last 5 years so we are seeing more systems installed in northern climates.

However, in remote power applications solar is very competitive as fuel costs can be so high.

There are many stand-alone and grid connected PV systems in the Alps. There is quit a bit of literature about monitored systems, which might give you a clue about the general issues of PV systems in mountainous regions. Some examples:

http://www.pv-test.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/lab1/pv/10Y_JJ_Paris04.pdf

http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-011-3622-8_197

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pip.4670010108/abstract

For the rest: use the keywords: "Alps photovoltaic system monitoring"  or similar with Google scholar.

To find the perfect ratio of PV array, storage, back-up generator, charge controller, inverter and so on: there is no simple formula. It all depends on local climate, load demand pattern, acceptable outage, and of course the cost if the different system parts and the cost of fuel for the optional back-up generator . You will have to do your own simulations using input data specific for the location and the user of the system.  There is extensive literature about simulating autonomous pv systems, it is not so hard to find.

useful key phrases:

autonomous pv systems

hybrid pv systems

Hi

Please see these links:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0038092X84800377

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261911002418

http://atarazanas.sci.uma.es/docs/articulos/16723363.pdf