Design and Simulation of a 10 MW Photovoltaic

Power Plant using MATLAB and Simulink

Dinut-Lucian Popa1, Marian-Stefan Nicolae2, Petre-Marian Nicolae1, Marius Popescu1
1
Electrical Eng., Energetics and Aeronautics Dept., University of Craiova, Romania
2
Computer Science Dept., University of Craiova, Romania
[email protected]

Abstract-The paper deals with the components design and medium voltage connection (20 kV), by means of the step-up
the simulation of a photovoltaic power generation system using transformer (LV/MV).
MATLAB and Simulink software. The power plant is composed
of photovoltaic panels connected in series and parallel strings, a The designed PV power generation system is composed of
DC-DC boost converter and a three-phase inverter which (Fig. 1):
connects to a 0.4 kV three-phase low voltage grid and a 20 kV 1) A PV array of PV panels grouped in series and/or
medium voltage grid by means of a step-up transformer. The parallel strings such as to obtain a maximum power of 10
DC-DC boost converter uses a MPPT controller and the inverter MW;
uses a control method based on d-q theory with a PI current
regulator. Some cases for which the dynamic behavior of the 2) A DC-DC boost converter used as a load regulator and
configured photovoltaic system presents interest are simulated. respectively to convert the output voltage of the PV array to a
They address the solar irradiance and temperature change. suitable voltage for the inverter;
3) A three-phase DC-AC converter (i.e. inverter) to export
I. INTRODUCTION the electrical energy to the three-phase grid;
The production of electrical energy without polluting 4) A three-phase step-up transformer to adapt the 0.4 kV low
actions and on the environment and depletion of its resources voltage output of the inverter to the 20 kV voltage of the grid;
is a very topical problem. 5) The PV power generation system controller, which
The solar energy radiation, considered relative to the life on contains the MPPT controller for the DC-DC boost converter
Earth, seems to be inexhaustible. and the inverter's controller.
The photovoltaic solar energy relies on the direct The MPPT controller is used to control the duty cycle in
generation of electricity by means of silicon cells. Under order to maintain the operating point as close as possible to
favorable climate conditions, when shining, the sun provides the maximum power point PMP of the PV array. PMP is located
a power of 1 kW/m2. The photovoltaic panels allow for direct at the intersection between the voltage-current characteristic
conversion in electricity of 10…15% from the above curve of the PV array and the equivalent load characteristic
mentioned energy [1]. The efficiency of PV system is a (Fig. 2).
permanent concern [2]. In Fig. 2, VOL is the open-load voltage of the PV cell, ISC
The irradiance energy of the sun to electrical energy can be represents its short-circuit current value. IMP and VMP are the
converted through photovoltaic (PV) power generation systems. current and voltage corresponding to the maximum power
If the power generation system does not include batteries to point PMP .
store the DC energy, instead including a common capacitor An algorithm was conceived and transposed in MATLAB,
between the DC-DC and DC-AC converters to store the starting from the initial design data.
energy on the side of DC-Link, then a fully non-polluting A. Design of the PV array
source is obtained [3]. Every panel (module) used by the designed installation
To get an optimization of the power supplied to the consists in cells of series connected polycrystalline cells. The
network, depending on the irradiance intensity of the sun, it is front side of the PV module includes a highly transparent
preferred to select a configuration in which the photo-voltaic glass sheet, characterized by a significant resistance against
power generation system uses an efficient controller such as mechanic shocks.
Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) [4]-[11]. The frame of anodized aluminum (covered through
II. DESIGN OF THE PV POWER GENERATION SYSTEM electrolysis by a layer of protective oxide), forms the
structural support of the module. All these provide an
The design of a PV power generation system, with an adequate protection against atmospheric agents like hail,
installed power of 10 MW, is proposed in what follows. snow, ice and storm. Each module contains by-pass diodes
The electric power supplying by using a PV equipment is introduced in the connection (distribution) box. These diodes
made according to the requirements imposed by the electric will allow the “off-lining” of the modules where the sunshine
energy provider who operates at the PV site, two options does not reach, in order to prevent their behavior as
being available: the low voltage connection (400 V) and the consumers for the panels getting radiation from sun and
therefore avoiding their undesired heating [12].

l-))) 
Fig. 1. The basic schematic of one 360 kW photovoltaic array generator.

Several models pf PV cells are available from A lower voltage can be selected for the inverter input, but
manufacturers like Mitsubishi, Sharp, Sanyo, LDK, BP Solar, as the voltage decreases (keeping the output voltage
Suntech. constant), a higher current will flow through the DC-DC
We selected Sanyo HIP-225HDE1 PV modules, with a boost converter. Therefore higher rated IGBT-s are needed.
maximum power of 225 W. The technical specifications for The minimum DC-Link voltage for the inverter can be
one module are given in Table I. computed with [13]:
The number of necessary series-connected modules per
string and parallel strings is determined by the DC-DC boost VDC − LINK ≥ 2 2 ⋅ VPHASE (2)
converter input voltage value and the inverter power.
The rated DC input voltage for the boost converter is with: VPHASE = the RMS value of the phase voltage at the
normally chosen half the output voltage, i.e. the DC-Link inverter's output.
voltage.
Considering that the output voltage of a string of series- Hence, the DC-Link voltage must be greater than 653 V.
connected PV modules is the sum of the component modules, Considering (1) and (2), a DC-DC converter input voltage
and also considering the minimum DC-Link voltage for the VPV of 350 V and a DC-Link voltage VDC-LINK of 700 V are
inverter, one can obtain the number of PV modules connected selected.
in series NSER based on: Returning to (1), the necessary number of PV modules
connected in series NSER shall be rounded to 11. One can now
1 VDC − LINK compute the maximum power of a series connected PV
N SER = ⋅ (1) string:
2 VMP
PSTRING = N SER ⋅ PMP = 11 ⋅ 224.89 = 2.47 kW (3)
with: NSER = number of necessary series connected modules;
VDC-LINK = the DC-Link voltage at the inverter input;
where: PMP = maximum power point.
VMP = PV module voltage at maximum power point;

TABLE I
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF ONE SANYO HIP-225HDE1 PV MODULE
Cell type Silicon Polycrystalline
Number of cells per module: 60
Open circuit voltage VOC 41.79 V
Current at maximum power point IMP 6.63 A
Short-circuit current ISC 7.13 A
Voltage at maximum power point VMP 33.9 V
Temperature coefficient of VOC -0.105 V/°C
Temperature coefficient of ISC 0.00214 A/°C
Temperature coefficient of VMP -0.101 V/°C
Temperature coefficient of IMP -0.0006634 A/°C Fig. 2. The Voltage-Current characteristic of a PV cell.


 Once the number of series connected modules is set, the The overload factor į generated by transients varies within
number of strings in parallel is computed based on the rated the range [120...180]% [5]. One selected a value of 150% for
power of one inverter. One selected a 360 kW 2-level inverter į and a switching frequency of 2.5 kHz, considering a
offered by IGBT manufacturer Semikron. The necessary compromise between the high cost and bulkiness of the PWM
number of strings in parallel becomes: coils for a low switching frequency and the higher losses at a
high switching frequency. Also, a higher switching frequency
PINV 360 kW offers a lower THD for the injected current and PCC voltage.
N PAR = = = 146 (4) The value of the DC-link capacitor is computed to limit the
PSTRING 2.47 kW
DC-link voltage ripple to 5% of the DC-Link voltage.
with: PINV = the power of one inverter. For a sinusoidal waveform, the average value of the current
IAVG is 63.6% from the peak value or 0.9 from the RMS value:

Thus, in order to obtain an installed power of 10 MW, we I AVG = 0.9 ⋅ I INV _ RMS = 0.9 ⋅ 611 = 550.18 A (10)
need a number of inverters NINV and PV arrays NARRAYS given
by: The peak-to-peak ripple value of the DC-Link voltage is
imposed to 5%:
PTOT MAX 10 MW
N INV = N ARRAYS = = = 28 (5)
PINV 360 kW VRIPPLE _ PEAK  0.05 ¸VDCLINK  0.05 ¸ 700  35 V (11)

with: PTOT MAX = desired installed power for the PV park. The capacitor’s value CDC-LINK can now be determined with
The design of the DC-DC-AC converter is done [13]:
backwards: firstly the inverter and then the DC-DC boost
converter. I INV _ AVG 550,18
CDC LINK p p p 25018 NF (12)
B. Sizing the DC-AC inverter 2 ¸ X ¸VRIPPLE _ PEAK 2 ¸ 314 ¸ 35
Inverter’s sizing is done considering the 360 kW PV array's
peak output power for a 2-level inverter offered by IGBT where: Ȧ = the angular frequency corresponding to the 50
manufacturer Semikron. The specialized Semisel online Hz grid.
application is used, having the RMS output voltage, output The rated voltage VRATED_CDC is recommended to be at least
power, efficiency, switching frequency and overload factor as 20 % higher than the operating voltage:
inputs.
For the maximum power of 360 kW and a worst-case VRATED _ CDC ≥ 120% ⋅ VDC − LINK ≥ 840 V (13)
efficiency of 85%, the RMS current through inverter is equal
to 611.3 A:
Considering (12) and (13), several capacitors must be
connected in parallel to achieve the large capacitance needed
PINV 100
I INV _ RMS = ⋅ = 611.3 A (6) at this high voltage value.
3 ⋅ VPHASE 85 The chosen IGBT switching transistors of the inverter are
SKiiP3614GB12E46DUW, liquid cooled.
Sizing the PWM coils inductance is done considering a 5%
ripple current from the peak value of the injected current, C. Sizing the DC-DC boost converter
which is: The parameters imposed for the DC-DC boost converter
are centralized in Table II.
Considering these values, the chosen IGBT switching
I INV _ PEAK = I INV _ RMS ⋅ 2 = 864.5 A (7)
transistor and diode of the boost converter is one
SKiiP3614GB12E46DUW module, liquid cooled.
Hence, the peak-to-peak value of current ripple is:
TABLE II
I RIPPLE _ PEAK = 0.05 ⋅ I INV _ PEAK = 43.2 A (8) TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF THE DC-DC BOOST CONVERTER
Rated input voltage 350 V
The PWM coils inductance is calculated with [13]: Minimum input voltage VMIN 300 V
Rated output voltage VDC-LINK 700 V
LPWM = ( )
3 ⋅VDC / (12 ⋅ δ ⋅ f COM ⋅ I RIPPLE _ PEAK ) = 0.62 mH (9)
Rated output voltage IOUT_RMS 611 A
Switching frequency fCOM_BOOST 2 kHz
with: į = the overload factor;
fCOM = the switching frequency of the inverter.


 Sizing the LBOOST coil inductance is done considering a 5%
ripple current from the maximum current through the IGBT.
Hence, the peak-to-peak value of current ripple is:

I RIPPLE _ PEAK = 0.05 ⋅ I IGBT _ MAX = 98.6 A (16)

The minimum LBOOST coil inductance is calculated with

[14]:

VMIN ⋅ (VDC − LINK − VMIN )

LBOOST ≥ (17)
I RIPPLE _ PEAK ⋅ f COM _ BOOST ⋅ VDC − LINK

Considering (17), the minimum inductance is computed as

0.89 mH, so a 1 mH boost inductor is chosen.
An input capacitor in necessary for the boost converter's
stability. Considering the power involved, a 100 ȝF input
capacitor is selected [16].
The flowchart of the photovoltaic system design is depicted
in Fig. 3.
III. SIMULATION OF ONE 360 KW PHOTOVOLTAIC
ARRAY GENERATOR
By using the designing parameters of the PV park
presented below and the data from datasheet, a simulation of
a field with PV cells corresponding to one of the 28 inverters
was done in the Simulink module which belongs to
MATLAB.
The Simulink model of the PV field is built by using
elements from the library SimPowerSystems. The solving
method is of discrete type and uses a fix step of 1 ȝs. The
control system operates at a sampling step of 100 ȝs, in order
to reproduce as accurate as possible the digital control and
respectively to be appropriate for loading in microcontrollers
and in developing platforms as dSPACE is.
The Simulink model of the generating PV system includes:
- an instrument to build signals related to solar radiation
and panels temperature (Signal Builder Tool), in order to test
the generation system's reactions in different contexts;
Fig. 3. The flowchart of the photovoltaic system design. - the field with PV cells;
- the DC-DC converter, along with the dedicated control
system MMPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking);
The specialized Semisel online application was used. - the three-phase inverter along with the dedicated control
Considering the boost converter's coil resistance of 35 mȍ system;
and the IGBT and diode losses, the efficiency Ș of the - the step-up transformer for connection to the network, of
converter is estimated to be 90%. 0.4/20 kV;
The duty cycle DMAX at the minimum input voltage VMIN - the network of 20 kV toward which the generated electric
can be computed with [14]: power is transferred.

VMIN ⋅η The model of PV field includes the configuration of the

DMAX = 1 − = 0.61 (14) number of PV cells in series and in parallel, as well as the
VDC − LINK
possibility to access different predefined models of panels
from several manufacturers. The module Sanyo HIP-
The maximum current through the IGBT can be computed
225HDE1 was selected.
with [14]:
The control system MPPT allows for a maximal energy
recovering, irrespective to temperature and illumination. The
I IGBT _ MAX = 2 ⋅ I OUT _ RMS ⋅ ( DMAX + 1) = 1973.6 A (15) voltage V and the current I are continuously measured in
PV PV


Fig. 4. The evolution of the solar irradiance (top) and PV cell temperature
(bottom) during simulation.

Fig. 6. The waveforms at the inverter side during simulation. From top to
bottom: the reference and measured DC-Link voltage, the duty cycle, the
RMS line voltage, the RMS phase current.

The inverter’s control pulses are inputs for a block used to

introduce switching outages of 3 ȝs, in order to avoid the
short-circuits between the IGBT-s from the same side.
The chain of events was selected to last 4 seconds, as
follows (Fig. 4):
- the solar radiation has an initial value of 1000 W/m2,
Fig. 5. The waveforms at the boost converter side during simulation: the (regular value), than falls up to 250 W/m2 , smoothly along
output power (top), the input voltage (middle) and the duty cycle (bottom). 0.5 seconds in order to simulate the apparition of some
clouds;
order to deduce the power extracted from the panel. The - in the 2nd second, the solar radiation comes back to 1000
power is compared to its previous value. After comparison, W/m2 along a period of 0.5 seconds;
the voltage at panel’s terminals is increased or reduced by - the temperature of the PV cells is increased from 25°C up
means of the duty cycle from the input of the PWM to 75°C beginning with the 3rd second, along 0.5 sec.
generator. The evolution of voltage and power of the PV field is
The control of the three-phase inverter is performed such as depicted by Fig. 5. The panels’ power decreases from 360 kW
to export the power provided by the PV field in the AC (corresponding to maximum solar radiation) up to 80 kW at
network of 0.4 kV, respectively of 20 kV and to preserve a 250 W/m2. One can notice that the voltage does not decrease
constant voltage of 400 V at the output terminals, along with significantly. It means that the control algorithm MPPT
a constant voltage of 700 V across the DC bars, irrespective operates in a correct manner by limiting the current injected
to the operating conditions (power of PV panels). It consists into the network. Close to the end of the simulation period,
of a block for test and transformation into the d-q coordinates, the input voltage decreases up to 320 V because the PV cells
a DC voltage regulator, a current regulator, a reference increases. The duty cycle increases to 0.6 to keep the output
voltage generator and a PWM generator for 2-Level three- voltage constant (Fig. 5).
phase inverters. The waveforms at the inverter side during simulation are
The model of the network in which the PV generating depicted by Fig. 6. No large deviations from the DC-Link
system exports power includes a MV load, step-up reference voltage or the RMS standard 400 V voltage value
transformers, models for long lines and an equivalent on the LV bus are observed.
generator of 24 kV connected by using a step-up transformer The active powers in the conversion chain are depicted by
24/120 kV. Fig. 7. The efficiency of the power conversion depends


 The PV generation system is also providing a voltage
characterized by a very good quality: the total harmonic
distortion in the 0.4 kV panels has a low value (2.3%) and in
the 20 kV bars the distortion is even smaller (< 1%).
These conclusions can be deduced based on the obtained
data and waveforms. We can conclude that the PV generating
system was designed properly.

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