performance assessment of solar power plants for sustainable electricity generation in ahvaz city

This study evaluates the technical and environmental performance of a 1 mw grid-connected photovoltaic (pv) power plant under the hot and arid climate of ahvaz, iran. the system was simulated using pvsyst version 7.4, incorporating real climatic data from the meteonorm database. results indicate that the designed pv plant, installed at a fixed tilt angle of 30°, generates approximately 1.73 gwh of net annual energy with a performance ratio (pr) of 0.844, demonstrating high efficiency. peak energy production occurs during the summer months, while the lowest output is observed in winter. temperature-related losses constitute the largest portion of total system losses (~9.29%). the co₂ emission balance analysis shows that the pv plant offsets approximately 1,711 tons of co₂ over its operational lifetime, contributing significantly to greenhouse gas reduction and environmental improvement. these findings highlight the high efficiency of pv systems under the hot climate of southwestern iran and their critical role in advancing clean and sustainable energy.