Design and Simulation of Grid-Connected Solar PV System Using PVSYST, PVGIS and HOMER Software

Abstract

In this paper, the design and simulation of a 5 MW solar power plant in Ghor province, Afghanistan have been investigated. A suitable place at a distance of about 8.17 km from the center of the province was selected as the power plant location. The main objective of this study is the investigation of solar renewable energy resources' capacity for generation of electrical energy from domestic resources to provide reliable and sustainable energy in the center of the Ghor province which is currently not connected to the national electrical grid. In this power plant, 6399 kWp, STP-320 W PV module, and 5300 kW Growatt convertor type were used. The PVSYST, PVGIS, and HOMER renewable energy simulation tools were used for analyzing the system. The results obtained from each simulation tool were compared together. Analysis of the results using HOMER and PVGIS shows that the annual energy generated using each simulation tool is about 11698 MWh and 10673 MWh respectively while the result from PVSYST is 11938 MWh per year. According to the obtained values, results from PVSYST depict 240 MWh more energy generation than HOMER and 1265 MWh than PVGIS simulation tools annually. These values indicate that PVSYST produces higher annual power for this system than HOMER and PVGIS. Comparing the annual generated power results of the simulations with reference to the PVSYST results, it can be concluded that PVGIS is 10.6% lower and HOMER is 2% lower. There is about a 2% difference between PVSYST and HOMER.