Performance analysis of an experimental and simulated grid connected photovoltaic system in southwest Algeria

The main purpose of the study is to examine the experimental and simulation performance of a 6 MWp grid-connected photovoltaic power plant during a specific period. A specific analysis technique was applied based on the IEC 61,724 standards to assess the effect of climatic factors. The treated data resulting from monitoring for 2 consecutive years (Jun 2017-Jun 2019) was analyzed on a daily and monthly basis in order to evaluate the performance trends of the solar PV system under climatic conditions such as an arid desert. Numerous measurement metrics are used in this respect, including the energy yields, performance ratio (PR), capacity factor (CF), and losses. The performance results obtained are compared with the PVsyst simulation, where findings of this study show that the actual data from the photovoltaic plant production closely matches the expected data collected using the PVSyst software. The average monthly yield of the PV array and the final yield were 5.1 and 4.7 h/d, respectively. The average performance ratio (PR) for the rows and the PV system was 90 and 84%, respectively. The average monthly efficiency of the PV array and the system were 12.68 and 11.75%, respectively. By comparing the results of the performance parameters of this installation with the results reported by different systems operating in various conditions, a desert climate may demonstrate to be slightly favorable. The experimental findings obtained during field operations illustrate how environmental parameters have a significant effect on both energy generation performance and system losses, where the Tm > 42 degrees C & PR < 70% the energy generated is relatively low even though the availability of solar irradiation, and also a correlation between the monthly average module temperature and the performance ratio with a correlation value of R-2 = 0.90.

Automated summary

The main purpose of this study is to examine the experimental and simulation performance of a 6 MWp grid-connected photovoltaic power plant during a specific period. The findings show that the actual data from the photovoltaic plant production closely matches the expected data collected using the PVSyst software. The study also reveals that a desert climate may demonstrate to be slightly favorable for the performance of the photovoltaic system, and environmental parameters have a significant effect on both energy generation performance and system losses.