Solar potential assessment using PVSYST software

Electricity is an essential part of our way of life. Most of the electricity is currently provided from the conventional thermal or hydro power stations. With the growing concern about the greenhouse gas emission and other environmental issues the renewable energy technologies such as photovoltaic cells are increasingly being recommended for electricity production. In this paper, the simulation of a grid-connected solar photovoltaic system is presented with the use of the computer software package PVsyst and their performance was evaluated. The performance ratio and the various types of power losses (temperature, internal network, power electronics) are calculated. From the results, the viability of installing 1 MW solar photo voltaic (PV) power plant is discussed by comparing solar energy production and life cycle cost of some of the places in southern region of Tamilnadu.