Comparative analysis of measured and simulated performance of the Moroccan first MV grid connected photovoltaic power plant of Assa,Southern Morocco

This paper presents preliminary results of actual measured and simulated performances of a first year 806.52 kwp grid connected photovoltaic power plant located at assa,southern morocco (28.63°n - 9.47°w). the pv system consists of 8 aichi on-grid pv inverters,100 kva each and 3432 sharp brand 235 kwp modules. the plant is divided into two groups of 4 inverters,each inverter is supplied by a pv field consisting of 33 strings of 13 series-connected modules facing south at a fixed tilt of 20°.the data presented in this study were monitored during the first year of operation of the plant. the performances of the system were simulated using pvsyst software then compared with real measured data. by december 31st 2015,the plant supplied 1331.29 mwh to the local utility grid. the mean actual measured specific yield,final yield,reference yield,system efficiency,performance ratio and total energy losses are 1650.66 kwh/kwp,4.57 kwh/kwp/day,6.763h/day,9.97%,70.14% and 2.053 kwh/kwp/day respectively. the predicted values of those parameters are in close agreement with the measured results. they were found to be 1384.01 mwh,1716.024 kwh/kwp,4.68 kwh/kwp/day,6.022 h/day,10.36%,77.9% and 1.331 kwh/kwp/day respectively. the detailed comparative study in this paper serves as a reference for continuous performance analysis of the pv plant. besides,the comparison of actual measurements collected on site with simulated estimates given by pvsyst can help to track closely the power generation,and to establish an adequate maintenance plan.