Abstract
The escalating demand for electricity driven by population growth has strained Algeria's power stations to boost their output. With the significant decline in solar photovoltaic (SPV) electricity prices and the escalating tariffs on conventional electricity, there has been a growing interest in solar photovoltaic plants for electricity generation. Consequently, accurately evaluating the annual and monthly yield of SPV plants becomes crucial for designing and installing new facilities. This paper presents an assessment of a 12 MW grid-connected photovoltaic power plant situated in the Dhaya region of Sidi Bel Abbes, Algeria. Real-time observational data was collected from January 1st, 2023, to December 2023. Evaluated parameters include energy output, final yield, performance ratio (PR), among others. The power plant supplied 20780.67 MWh to the grid in 2023. The final yield (Yf) ranged from 3.25 to 5.88 kWh/kWp, the performance ratio (PR) varied from 79% to 89.71%, and the annual capacity factor was determined to be 19.44%. These parameters are compared with those obtained from simulations using PVsyst software and solar GIS-PV planner.