Development of a real time photovoltaic simulator in normal and abnormal operations

This paper presents a method for developing a real time simulator of a Photovoltaic (PV) array by taking into account its normal and abnormal operations. The proposed simulator is based on Power Hardware In the Loop (PHIL) simulation in which a DC power supply is controlled by a digital real time simulator through its analog interface. The control of the power supply is issued from the PV array model implemented in the simulator. This model takes into account variable weather conditions and abnormal operating conditions of the array. The proposed PV simulator is tested with a commercial PV inverter connected to the grid for validation. The test results show a perfect accuracy of the inverter in locating the maximum power point of the array in both normal and abnormal operations.