Design PV Sys Using Etap and Sam
Design PV Sys Using Etap and Sam
Design PV Sys Using Etap and Sam
2 (2022) 458-466
© Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia Publisher’s Office
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Homepage: http://publisher.uthm.edu.my/periodicals/index.php/eeee
e-ISSN : 2756-8458
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30880/eeee.2022.03.02.054
Received 15 July 2022; Accepted 20 September 2022; Available online 30 October 2022
Abstract: Renewable energy (RE) field has been listed as one of the alternative
energy solutions for the global energy transition to zero-carbon energy generation by
2050. This is because Malaysia has benefited from the exploration of the country’s
potential for Large Scale Solar Photovoltaic (LSS PV) installations. However, LSS
often faced technical challenges in the LSS PV to the power grid integration. The
technical challenges can be classified as voltage instability, reactive power regulation,
and short circuit power deviations. In this project, the two methods are used which
are PVSyst and ETAP software. The aims of this project are to design a Grid
Connected Photovoltaic system using PVSyst simulation and analyze the power
system network for the transmission connected LSS plant to the grid system using
ETAP software and investigate the performance of grid connection to be able to
comply with Grid Code requirements. The PVSyst simulation result showed that the
system is able to produce a 41 to 42 MW capacity of AC rating using three different
PV modules. By using the output rating from the PVSyst, the PV system is then
integrated into Bus 7 where the findings of this project found that the deviations in
bus voltages were minimal and the network was able to operate within the specified
limits.
1. Introduction
Renewable energy (RE) has been listed as one of the alternative energy solutions for the global
energy transition to the generation of carbon-free energy by 2050 [1]. As a result, Malaysia's equatorial
location has benefited the exploration of the country's potential for large-scale solar photovoltaic (LSS
PV) installations. When compared to other renewable energy sources, solar electricity is the most
preferred RE source in Malaysia [2]. Hence, LSS can be viewed as a transparent mechanism in order to
achieve the government’s RE target in which solar PV energy harvesting can be done through a grid-
connected via LSS PV [3]. According to Suruhanjaya Tenaga, LSS refers to any solar photovoltaic plant
in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, or Labuan with a capacity that is permitted by The Energy Commission
and connected to either the Transmission Network for less than 30 MW or Distribution Network for
more than 30 MW [4]. The specifications for the grid-connected photovoltaic model are presented in
MS: 1837 by the Malaysian Standards Department in which the paper contains the specifications for
the electronic components used in the grid-connected system. Malaysian Standards MS: 1837 also
discussed the characteristics of PV arrays such as DC vs AC behavior, series-parallel configuration,
low fault levels and operating temperature [5]. Researchers discovered that the cost of producing PV
panels is steadily reducing due to advancements in material and PV array manufacture technology and
that solar power generation will soon be competitive with other kinds of renewable energy. PV arrays
in Grid-Connected Photovoltaic (GCPV) 2 systems, on the other hand, tend to be low voltage due to
low solar cell conversion efficiency and the fact that a PV array's output power is affected by irradiance
and temperature. Thus, maximum power point tracking (MPPT) circuitry and the selection of inverter
modules that utilize the MPPT should be used to operate the PV array fully [6].
Researchers also have classified some technical challenges faced in the LSS PV grid integration
such as voltage unbalance and fluctuations, reactive power control, short circuit power variations and
power system instability. According to Mohanan et al. (2020), a power system is a nonlinear network
that differs constantly depending on several parameters such as key operating specifications,
transmission parameters and generator outputs [2]. The stability of a power system can be divided into
three categories like steady and transient state as well as dynamic stability. Meanwhile, fault or
disturbance can cause the entire system or part of the system to fail to range from short to long
timescales as measured in time is known as an unstable state system. Similar studies addressing the
same concern of environmental characteristics such as temperature, wind and irradiance that resulted in
the variations of the energy profile were undertaken for determining the LSS PV to the power system.
Since researchers found out an ideal bus for LSS integration can lead to a stable power system, a
number of methods for dealing with the power system instability have been proposed. Power system
stability can be addressed by connecting the FACTS device to boost the bus voltage on transmission
lines and reactive power correction was necessary to improve network performance. Researchers also
stated that determining the configuration of devices such as synchronous machines, capacitor banks,
and other reactive power injections is made possible in order to place it in the proper position or bus.
The proposed solutions were tested on IEEE 9- Bus and IEEE 28- Bus test systems. The above reviews
also looked at the level of penetration required to keep the transmission system stable while using
various PV modules [1],[2],6]. A study from India also provides the impacts of LSS PV penetration
into the IEEE 39- Bus test system to address the same problems [7].
Hence, the objective of this paper is to design the grid-connected photovoltaic large-scale system
using PVSyst simulation, to analyze the power system network for the transmission-connected Large
Scale Solar plant to the Grid System during steady state using ETAP software and to investigate the
stability of the grid-connected Large Scale Solar plant in the network system to comply with Grid Code
requirements. The findings should give a major contribution to the field of LSS PV grid integration
where in this research, monocrystalline, polycrystalline and thin film will be used to design the grid-
connected system and the power system network will be utilized by the IEEE-10 Bus system, which
will provide insights on the power flow analysis and stability of the system.
2. Materials and Methods
This section outlines the methods used in this study which included the PVSyst simulation and
ETAP modeling for Large Scale Solar Photovoltaic grid integration in which the methods offer steady-
state analysis and detailed assessment of the interconnection between the Large Scale Solar plant and
the grid-connected Photovoltaic system to comply with Malaysian Grid Code.
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Table 2: Percentage of steady state voltage drop during normal operating condition
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4. Conclusion
This paper proposed a design of the Grid Connected Photovoltaic Large Scale System using PVSyst
simulation where the system performance is assessed using three different types of PV modules. The
AC rating of the inverter output obtained was found to be higher for the thin film PV module by First
Solar with a value of 42.4 GWh generated per year. In addition, the number of modules required to
generate a 50 MW capacity of grid-connected was considerably lesser when compared to
monocrystalline and polycrystalline PV modules. Yet, in terms of environmental aspects,
monocrystalline and polycrystalline are better than thin-film modules as the module used CdTe. Other
than that, although monocrystalline PV module has a higher rating than polycrystalline, the performance
however was comparable as it is evident that Jinko Solar and Longi Solar generated almost similar
energy per year. In addition, this paper provided four different analyses of voltage stability by analyzing
the power system network for the transmission-connected Large Scale Solar plant to the Grid System
during steady state using ETAP software. The findings of this paper found that the integration of the
Solar PV bus to Bus 7 showed to be the best configuration because the deviations in bus voltages were
minimal and the network was able to operate within the specified limits. This paper also investigated
the stability of the grid-connected Large Scale Solar plant in the network system to comply with
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Malaysian Grid Code requirements where the outcomes obtained from this paper showed that reactive
power such as FACTS devices is needed to improve the performance of the bus voltages.
Acknowledgement
The authors would also like to thank the Faculty of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Universiti
Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia for its support.
Appendix A (Optional)
The IEEE 10-Bus model that is utilized in ETAP simulation is illustrated in Figure 1.
References
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[5] SIRIM Malaysian Standard for Installation of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system,
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