Modelling and Experimental Characteristics of Photovoltaic Modules in Typical Days at an Actual Photovoltaic Power Station

Solar energy among the renewable energy sources (RES) plays an important role in fulfilling any country’s energy demands. When the sunlight irradiates the photovoltaic (PV) modules, part of the light energy is directly converted into electric energy. Another part is converted into heat energy, which increases the working temperature and affects the output performance characteristics of the PV module. This paper proposes a dynamic mathematical model of PV modules working on solar irradiance and ambient temperature by calculating the PV module model parameters under different environmental conditions. The dynamic model of the PV module is suggested to simulate PV modules’ output characteristics (voltage and current) under any environmental conditions. By employing MATLAB/Simulink, a PV output characteristics program is compiled. The whole day output characteristics of PV strings of a real PV power station are tested and compared with simulation results. The results depict that the established model can effectively reflect PV modules’ output characteristics in actual operation and can be used for dynamic simulation of PV power generation.