SIMULATION STUDY OF A STANDALONE PHOTOVOLTAIC ELECTRICITY GENERATION SYSTEM

The energy demand of the nation is growing rapidly as Malaysia thrusts forward towards
becoming a developed nation. Generation of electricity is still heavily dependent on
combustion of fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal. The emissions from the combustion
of fossil fuels have led to serious environmental and climatic problems such as global
warming and air pollution. The depleting nature of fossil fuels adds further constraint to the
utilization of these fuels in meeting the nation’s future energy needs. The problems
associated with fossil fuels initiated the interest to explore alternative energy sources that
are more environmentally friendly and sustainable for electricity generation. Since Malaysia
is located near the equator with monthly average daily solar irradiation of approximately
4500 Wh/m2 and average sunshine duration of up to 8 hours, the utilization of solar energy
for electricity generation has great prospects. The photovoltaic-based electricity generation
system (PVEGS) converts sunlight into electricity using photovoltaic (PV) modules.
However, sunlight is not available continuously throughout the day. The transient nature of
solar energy affects the performance of the PV module which results in the need for
efficient control and storage of energy. PVEGS installation designing and sizing are crucial
for optimum system operation but are complicated due to the characteristics of the energy
resource and complexities of system component operation. A simulation program is
developed to assist users with the designing and sizing of PVEGS installations according to
the solar resource available at site for practical implementation. A PVEGS prototype is
implemented in Ipoh using the design and sizing recommendations provided by the
simulation program. The prototype is tested and was found to be operating up to expectation
and according to the specified requirements. The simulated performance of the PVEGS has
a reasonably good correlation of 84.1% with the performance of the implemented PVEGS
prototype.