Solar power station model in Matlab Simulink

program
Oleg V. Leshtayev1, Natalia A. Stushkina2, Vladimir I. Zaginailov3, Natalia A. Sergeeva4
1, 2, 3 PowerSupply and Electrical Engineering Department, 4 Department of Russian and Foreign Languages
1, 2, 3, 4 Russian Timiryazev State Agrarian University
1, 2, 3, 4 Moscow, Russian Federation
1 oleg-leshtaev@yandex.ru, 2 nstushkina@mail.ru, 3 energo-viz@mail.ru, 4 kukulenok72@mail.ru

Abstract – The paper outlines various factors affecting the conducted earlier [6] examined the temperature effect on the
solar module efficiency. The authors consider the dependence energy characteristics of solar panels under various operating
of the solar module operation on insolation and temperature. conditions.
The temperature increases the degradation of the solar
modules during the operation time, determines technical Studies conducted by the authors [7] have revealed the
characteristics and the efficiency of the modules, which need for further research on the temperature and light effect
decreases as the temperature increases. Using the Matlab on the solar power plant efficiency. In addition, the solar
Simulink program the authors have developed a model of an radiation influence on the solar module operation has been
autonomous solar power plant. The model considers the estimated [8].
relationship between the heating temperature of solar modules
and their efficiency during operation. The model provides an
II. PROBLEM FORMULATION
option of selecting solar module makes, the number of modules
and their connection circuits. Depending on a solar module When designing solar power plants, many different
make the corresponding current and voltage parameters are factors are taken into account: installation location, annual
automatically set. When the model operates, the batteries solar insolation, tilt angle of modules, number of solar
connected to the solar modules are charged and the inverter modules, ambient temperature, shading, natural cooling of
converts DC into AC. modules. The number of solar modules directly determines
the efficiency of a solar power plant. A large number of
Keywords: solar power plant; Matlab Simulink, temperature modules will increase their operating area [9].
of solar modules, efficiency.
Solar modules convert solar radiation directly into
I. INTRODUCTION electricity through a photovoltaic effect. This is a silent and
clean process that does not require movement of parts. The
The modern world witnesses rapidly growing energy photoelectric effect is a semiconductor effect in which solar
consumption. Oil accounts for about half of the world’s radiation getting on the semiconductor photocells creates the
current energy balance, gas and atom for about one third (app movement of electrons. Photovoltaic cells convert solar
one sixth each), and coal for about one fifth. However, energy into direct current.
modern power industry faces some problems. The main ones
include gradual depletion of energy resources and a The tilt angle of the modules depends on the plant
threatening environmental situation. In this respect, the issue location. In such a way changing the active plant angle
of using alternative energy sources is becoming increasingly cannot affect the operation of the solar panels. There are
important. Alternative power industry is based on the use of automatic systems for tracking the position of the Sun used
renewable (or "clean") energy sources. The main one is solar to adjust the tilt angle and rotation angle of the solar modules
energy, the conversion of which requires energy-generating relative to the Sun. However, the use of such systems
devices (solar power plants) [1]. significantly increases capital investments in the construction
of a solar power plant.
Recently, solar energy has become widely used. Experts
consider the annual growth of the "solar" market to be about The amount of solar radiation falling on the Earth does
30%. This share is caused by a number of solar energy not depend on human activity. Even if this parameter is taken
advantages. Firstly, solar power plants do not emit into account when choosing the location of the power plant,
“greenhouse” gases, toxic components and dust pollutants. the cost of energy transfer may still increase.
Secondly, the operation of solar power plants is virtually To solve the problem of inconstant solar radiation, it is
noiseless. Thirdly, solar energy is a nearly inexhaustible advisable to use combined power plants that incorporate both
source. Fourth, solar power plants can be used as a solar panels and gas piston units, as an option [10].
complementary energy source for electricity production [2].
It will provide for the use of solar power plants as energy The temperature of solar modules is one of the most
sources when establishing a distributed generation system in important factors affecting the operation of the entire solar
Russia [3]. But solar power plant efficiency should be power plant. The temperature increases the degradation of
increased to ensure their successful and economically viable the solar modules during the operation time, determines
use. The characteristic is primarily related to the illumination technical characteristics and the efficiency of the modules
and surface temperature of the solar modules. Theoretical [11], which decreases as the temperature increases.
and practical studies [4,5] report that the temperature of
panels in summer rises to 700C or higher. The study

978-1-7281-5655-2/20/$31.00 ©2020 IEEE

 III. MODEL OF SOLAR POWER PLANT AND TEST RESULTS figure shows two possible options of the module operation:
To study the effect of module surface temperature on the increasing the module temperature with constant light and
efficiency of a solar power plant, a model (Fig. 1) of an shading the operating module at a constant temperature.
autonomous solar power plant was developed. Input signal values are set depending on the location of
The input of this model has two signals that vary in time: the considered object or the prospective construction area of
solar radiation and ambient temperature (Fig. 2, Fig. 3). The the solar power plant. The signals vary over time and can be
adjusted at any time during the study.

Fig. 1. Model of a solar power plant

Fig. 2. Signals at the model input by change of insolation at constant temperature

Fig. 3. Signals at the model input by change of temperature at constant insolation

Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 show the output power from a single The model provides an option of selecting solar module
SunPower SPR-305-WHT battery at the corresponding input makes, the number of modules and their connection circuits,
signals. According to the results, when the illumination of i.e. the number of solar modules connected in series and in
solar modules changes over time, the power generated by parallel. Depending on a solar module make the
the solar module sharply decreases. The temperature effect corresponding current and voltage parameters are
on the module operation is less noticeable, but when the automatically set. Fig. 6 shows the solar module equivalent
module surface temperature increases, the generated power circuit.
decreases.

Fig. 4. Module output power by shaded solar modules

Fig. 5. Module output power by increased of module temperature

Fig. 6. Solar module equivalent circuit

m – coefficient depending on the semiconductor

The solar module operating principle is based on material: m=1 – Ge, m=2 – Si
semiconductor diode operation.
kT
The output characteristics of the diode are calculated as VT – diode thermal voltage VT = N cell N ser (V)
follows: q
T – cell temperature (K),
  Vd


  k – Boltzmann constant k = 1.3806*10-23
I d = I sat e  mVT 
− 1 (1)
  q – elementary charge of an electron = 1.6022*10-19
 
Ncell – the number of cells connected in series in the
where module

Id – diode current (A) Nser – number of cells connected in parallel

Vd – diode voltage (V) An MPPT controller is connected to each solar cell

block. The operation of the controller program code
Isat – diode saturation current (A) depends on the signals received from the solar module.
The controller operates the key, which disconnects the
solar module from the inverter when energy production is
reduced. Then, the solar modules are connected to the temperature influence on the operating mode of a photoelectric
inverter. solar station] // Tekhnicheskiye nauki - ot teorii k praktike: sb. st.
po mater. XLVI mezhdunar. nauch.-prakt. konf. No. 5(42). –
When the model operates, the batteries connected to Novosibirsk: SibAK, 2015. (In Russian)
the solar modules are charged and the inverter converts [5] V. N. Gul'kov, I. D. Kolesnichenko, K. Ye. Korotkov,
DC into AC. Issledovaniye vliyaniya nagreva solnechnykh moduley na
effektivnost' preobrazovaniya izlucheniya [Study of the effect of
heating solar modules on the efficiency of radiation conversion] //
IV. WAYS TO REDUCE THE SOLAR MODULE HEATING Izvestiya SPbGETU “LETI” No. 1, 2019, pp. 10-16. (In Russian)
[6] Ye Vin, V.I. Vissarionov, Issledovaniye vliyaniya temperatury
Scientists are still looking for ways to solve the kharakteristiki fotoelektricheskikh preobrazovateley [Study of the
problem of overheating batteries. Higher resistance to influence of temperature characteristics of photovoltaic converters]
temperatures is believed to increase the generation of //Nauchno-tekhnicheskoye tvorchestvo molodezhi — put' k
electricity in summer as well as to extend the service life obshchestvu, osnovannomu na znaniyakh: Moskva, VVTS,
2012, pp. 486-488. (In Russian)
of the modules. Professor Shanhue Fan’s scientific group
made considerable research progress in this direction. A [7] V.I. Zaginaylov, O.V. Leshtayev, T.A. Mamedov, A.A. Samsonov,
Opyt ekspluatatsii solnechnoy elektrostantsii v moskovskoy oblasti
photopanel with an extra thin relief layer of quartz glass [Experience of operation of a solar power plant in the Moscow
was developed at Stanford University in 2014. Such a region] // In: DOKLADY TSKHA Materialy mezhdunarodnoy
surface transmits visible light for generating electricity and nauchnoy konferentsii, 2018, pp. 181-183. (In Russian)
reflects heating infrared rays, which results in passive [8] O.V. Leshtayev, Vliyaniye solnechnoo izlucheni na rabotu
cooling. solnechnoy elektrostantsii [Influence of solar radiation on the
operation of a solar power plant] // Prioritety mirovoy nauki:
Another option to control overheating was the hybrid eksperiment i nauchnaya diskussiya. Sbornik materialov IV
wind-driven solar power plant WindRail developed by the Mezhdunarodnoy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii, 2019, pp.
56-59. (In Russian)
Swedish engineer Sven Kohler. Its windmills act as fans
for solar panels. The pilot project was undertaken a year [9] Utility-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Power Plants, Solar PV
Technology, International Finance Corporation 2015 All rights
ago. Company Anerdgy undertook to implement this reserved.2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C.
program. The first WindRail system was installed on a 12- 20433 ifc.org [Electronic resource]. –
story apartment building in Berlin. Such an installation URL:https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/f05d3e00498e0841bb
may gain popularity in urban conditions due to its 6fbbe54d141794/IFC%20Solar%20Report_Web%20_08%2005.pd
f?MOD=AJPERES (In English)
compactness, synergy and optimal design.
[10] A.A. Sukhov, N.A. Stushkina, Vozmozhnost' ispol'zovaniya
gazoporshnevykh agregatov dlya elektrosnabzheniya potrebiteley
V. CONCLUSION sel'skoy mestnosti [Prospects of using gas piston units for power
supply to rural consumers]. / Elektrooborudovaniye: ekspluatatsiya
Summing it all up, it should be noted that the i remont. No.4 – Moskva, 2019, pp. 46–50. (In Russian)
development of one distributed generation direction in the [11] O.V. Leshtayev, N.A. Stushkina, Prognozirovaniye effektivnosti
power supply circuit for agricultural consumers, namely, solnechnoy elektrostantsii [Forecasting of solar power plant
solar energy conversion and its use, will provide for the efficiency] // Eksperimental'niye i teoreticheskiy eissledovaniya v
necessary levels of reliability and power supply quality sovremennoy nauke: sb. st.po mater. XXXVI-XXXVII mezhdunar.
nauch.-prakt. konf. No.6-7 (33). – Novosibirsk: SibAK, 2019, pp.
and reduce electricity transmission cost, as well as attract 47–50. (In Russian)
private investment to develop electric power industry in
Russia [3]. However, to increase solar power plant
efficiency, particular consideration should be given to the
negative effect of the increased temperature of the solar
modules during their operation and the efficiency of
converting solar radiation into direct current. This problem
needs to be studied in more detail; for this purpose, the
offered model can be used (as one of the options). The
authors consider it practical to continue studies of the
temperature effect on the solar module operation by using
this model. The authors conclude that it will allow to
evaluate the negative temperature influence while
developing and further using a solar power plant.

REFERENCES
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[3] A.A. Sukhov, N.A. Stushkina, Modernizatsiya system
elektrosnabzheniya potrebiteley putem raspredeleniya
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