Simulation of Solar Energy Photovoltaic

Conversion
Tatyana V. Myasnikova1, Anna А. Kirillova2, Svetlana P. Ivanova3, Oksana V. Sveklova4, Oksana A.Nadezhdina5
1 Electrical Technologies, Electrical Equipment and Automated Manufacturing Department
2 A.A. Fedorov Power Supply and Intelligent Electric Power Systems Department
3Electrical and Electronic Devices Department
4Foreign Languages Department
5Applied Mechanics and Graphics Department
1,2,3,4,5 Ulyanov Chuvash State University
1, 2, 3, 4, 5Cheboksary, Russian Federation
1tatyanamyasnikova@yandex.ru, 2anyaskinooo@gmail.com, 3isp1970@mail.ru, 4sveklova.ok@yandex.ru, 5nadezhdina_oksana@mail.ru

Abstract — Renewable energy sources, namely, the energy of annual electricity production in our country. Solar
of the sun, wind, water, etc., are of great importance in solving intensity is the highest in the south-west (North Caucasus,
electricity needs. The main source of energy on the earth is the the region of the Black and Caspian Seas) and in Southern
sun. At present, solar energy is one of the most promising Siberia and the Far East. Significant resources are available
directions in the development of renewable energy sources. For in Kalmykia, Stavropol Territory, Rostov Region, Krasnodar
the efficient use of solar energy it is necessary to have an Territory, Volgograd Region, Astrakhan Region and other
opportunity to predict its power under the influence of various regions in the southwest, as well as Altai, Primorye, Chita
factors. The task of modeling the photovoltaic conversion of Region, Buryatia and other regions in the southeast. In some
solar energy is particularly relevant in connection with the
areas of Western and Eastern Siberia and the Far East annual
trend of a gradual transition to renewable energy sources.
solar radiation is 1300 kWh / m2, exceeding the values in the
Solar panel of the Mitsubishi PV-MLE255HD type in the
software and hardware system of the real-time “RTDS” is
southern regions of Russia. For example, in Irkutsk (in
simulated in the article . The model was developed using basic latitude 52 degrees north) the supply of solar energy reaches
equations of photovoltaic solar cells which take into account 1340 kWh / m2, and in the Republic of Yakutia - Sakha (in
the effects of solar radiation and temperature drops. latitude 62 degrees north) - 1290 kWh / m2. It is these areas
that recommend the use of plants converting solar energy.
Keywords — renewable energy sources, solar battery, solar
One of the largest solar power plants in Russia is A.A.
cell, current-voltage characteristic, simulation, photovoltaic
Vlaznev Orsk Solar Power Plant with a total capacity of 40
panel.
MW. The station consists of 160110 panels and is located on
I. INTRODUCTION the territory of 100 hectares.
Solar energy still occupies a small share in the world Experts estimated the potential of renewable energy
electricity production, but its role is growing rapidly. sources in Russia, taking into account the availability of
Moreover, in recent years it has been gaining popularity not resources, technical feasibility and economic feasibility of
only thanks to various measures of state support, but also alternative energy technologies application at 270 million
because of the essential results of its implementation tons of nominal fuel [5].
,namely, the technological maturity of the industry and, in
some cases, economic competitiveness [1]. II. MATERIALS AND METHODS
Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) notes high The main element of a solar battery is a solar cell.
penetration of renewable energy into many world markets However, the power of one solar cell is very small, and in
(87% of total electricity supplies to Europe by 2050 and 55% order to produce enough power to provide a traditional load,
in the US, 62% in China and 75% in India). It is predicted individual cells are connected in series forming a module.
that by 2050 the LCOE [2] from new photovoltaic plants will Then, a solar battery can be formed from the modules which
decrease by 71%. This technology showed a decrease in will correspond to the design specification of solar
LCOE by 77% from 2009 to 2018 [3]. generating systems. The battery consists of modules that are
connected in series and in parallel [6, 7].
Russia did not stand aside from global trends in the
development of solar energy - in Russia there is a production The number of elements in the module is denoted by Nc;
of solar modules, large grid and small autonomous solar the number of parallel modules is denoted by Np, and the
power plants are under construction, and its own highly number of series-connected modules is denoted by Ns.
efficient technology for the production of heterostructure An ideal solar cell appears electrically to be a current
modules has been developed and patented. The established source in parallel with a single diode. A model of the solar
capacity of solar power plants in Russia reaches about 500 cell with four parameters is shown in Fig. 1.
MW and it is planned to increase these figures to 1.5 GW by
2024 [4].
The potential of solar energy falling on the territory of
the Russian Federation within three days exceeds the energy

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 T
α = αref ( ) (7)
Tref

g(2Vmpref − Vocref )
Fig. 1. A model of a solar cell with four parameters.
α ref = (8)
I scref I mpref
The dependence of current on voltage for the solar cell N c kTref ( + ln(1 − ))
I scref − I mpref I scref
model in Fig. 1 is determined by the formula:

I = I ph − I D (1) where mpref is voltage at maximum power, V; ocref is open

circuit voltage, V; mpref is current at maximum power, A.
where Iph is current induced by the fall of sunlight on the Usually parameters(Iphref , oref , αref , s ) are not provided
solar cell; ID is diode current which determines the volt-
ampere characteristics of the photoelectric element. by manufacturers of photovoltaic batteries and should be
evaluated according to available data ( scref , ocref , mref , mref ,
The diode current is determined by the expression: so ), which are indicated in the characteristics of
photovoltaic batteries under "standard test conditions": when
V + Rs I 2
I D = I 0(exp ( ) − 1) (2) ref = 1000 W/m and ref = 25 °C.
N c αVt
Induced photoelectric current under standard conditions
where I0 is reverse saturation current of the diode; α is diode phref can be assumed equal to short circuit current scref .
ideality coefficient; Nc is number of elements connected in The reverse saturation current of the diode under normal
series in the module; Vt is thermal voltage of the diode which conditions will be determined in accordance with the
is constant and determined at any given temperature, K; expression:
V+RsI is total diode bias voltage (Rs is a sum of several
structural resistances in a solar cell). I scref
The thermal voltage of the diode is determined by the I oref = (9)
Vocref
formula: exp( )−1
N c α ref Vt
kT
Vt = (3)
g The resistance of the solar cell is found by the formula:
where k is Boltzmann constant (1,38·10-23 J / C); g is electron I mpref
charge (1,6·10-19 Cl); T is set temperature, K. N c αref Vt ln(1 − ) + (Vocref − Vmpref )
I scref
The volt-ampere characteristics of the solar cell depend Rs = (10)
on a change in solar parameters with a given insolation G I mpref
(solar intensity W/m2) and temperature T (K), as described in
the above equations. The task of modeling the processes of solar energy
The induced photoelectric current can be found by the generation at the moment is especially relevant in connection
formula: with the trend of a gradual transition to renewable energy
sources.
G Back in 1969, Herman Dommel released his work Digital
I ph = (I phref + ki (T − Tref ) (4)
Gref Computer Solution of Electromagnetic Transients in Single-
and Multiphase Networks [8]. His development made it
where i is temperature coefficient of short circuit current, possible to move from electromechanical and static models
%/°С. to digital. At the same time, this could be done both in real
time and unreal time mode.
The reverse saturation current of the diode is found by
the formula: In the late 1980s. computer technologies achieved the
production level sufficient for real-time modeling using only
T 3 Eg Tref numerical methods. RTDS Technologies became the first
I0 = I oref ( ) exp( (1 − ) (5) company to manufacture RTDS (Real Time Digital
Tref αVt T Simulator) digital simulator [9]
Today, real-time digital modeling of modern power
where g is band gap of the selected semiconductor material
systems is becoming an integral part of research
of the solar cell, eV, determined by the expression:
2
T
E g = 1,16 − 0,000702 (6)
T − 1108

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 III. RESULTS
We have modeled the solar panel of the Mitsubishi PV-
MLE255HD type in a real-time hardware-software complex
of the RTDS type.
RTDS is a specialized hardware-software complex
designed to study stationary modes and electromagnetic
transients in an electric power system in real time [10].
RTDS allows you to solve the following tasks:
- in hard real-time mode simulation of energy systems of
Fig. 2. Model of the solar panel in the RTDS firmware
various configurations, including both traditional elements
(generators, transformers, lines) and modern embedded
devices, as well as actively adaptive networks;
-a detailed study of the modes (steady-state modes,
electromagnetic and electromechanical transients) of
alternating current and direct current systems, including
using physical equipment connected with hard feedback,
saving and repeating the simulation results;
- comprehensive testing of real equipment in conditions
as close as possible to those that take place in real power
systems;
а) selection of solar cell parameters
- development and verification of algorithms for the
operation of control devices, regulation and protection.
Various external equipment, such as measuring devices,
relay protection and controllers, for example, control devices
for variable speed drives or controlled reactive power
compensators are connected to RTDS via input / output
devices. At the same time, the operating conditions of the
connected equipment correspond to the real conditions as
much as possible. This allows you to test various devices
without installing it in a real system.
In order to simulate the solar panel in RTDS, it is b) selection of the number of modules connected in series and parallel
necessary to set the following parameters: c is number of
series-connected elements in the module; cp is number of
elements connected in parallel in the module; ocref is open
circuit voltage, V; is short circuit current, A; mpref is
voltage at maximum power, V; mpref is current at maximum
power, A; g is band gap; tmp ( i is temperature coefficient
of short circuit current, %/°С; ϑ is temperature coefficient
of open circuit voltage, %/°С; Tref is reference temperature
under standard test conditions (typically Tref = 25 °C); INSref
(Gref) is reference solar intensity (usually Gref = 1000 W/m2);
s is number of modules connected in series; p is number
c) selection of a solar cell model and calculation method
of parallel connected modules.
Fig. 3 Screenshots of the set parameters
The solar panel has the following parameters: c = 60;
cp = 1; ocref =37,8В; =4,445А; mpref =31,2V; Volt-ampere characteristics (Fig.4) determine the
operating point of the photovoltaic battery at a given
mpref =4,09 А; g – monocrystalline silicon; tmp =0,056,
insolation and temperature. Curves vary from short-circuit
%/°С; ϑ = -0,35, %/°С; ref = 25 °C; INSref = 1000 W/m2
current (Isc, 0) to open circuit voltage (0, Vоc) with inflection
s =1; p =2 (Fig. 3). point (Im, Vm), defined as the maximum power point at which
the photovoltaic battery generates maximum electric power
Pmax [6].

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 In order to transfer the maximum power of the solar
module under the given conditions to the load, one can use
well-known algorithms for decreasing the maximum power
point (MPP) [11].
IV. CONCLUSION
Today, modeling is becoming one of the main tools for
the development of innovative areas of the electric power
industry. Real-time modeling complexes are an effective tool
for studying photoelectric energy conversion. Modeling was
carried out to study the processes when changing various
parameters.
Fig. 4. Volt-ampere characteristics and solar cell power curve
To carry out comprehensive research we used the
The energy characteristics of the photocell were obtained specialized real-time simulation software and hardware
as a result of the simulation. The solar panel runs on infinite complex RTDS (manufacturer is Canadian company RTDS
power buses. In these experiments the voltage gradually Technologies Inc.). RTDS makes it possible to conduct
varied from 0 to 37,8 V and the characteristics of current and studies of power systems in static and dynamic modes,
power dependences on voltage were measured. including devices operating under the IEC-61850 protocol.
Modeling was carried out at a fixed temperature of 25 °C In our case, the approach to the study was based on the
and different levels of insolation from 200 to 1000 W/m2 identification of key factors (model parameters) that
(Fig.5). influence on the final result.
Simulation of photovoltaic energy conversion in the real-
time RTDS hardware-software complex and further
processing of the results obtained can allow us to evaluate
the technical and economic efficiency of using various solar
modules in specific climatic conditions.
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