Comparative Analysis of Energy Production in Photovoltaic Systems With Different Inverter Architectures: a Case Study in Centralized Generation
Abstract
The Brazilian energy market is growing exponentially, driven by renewable sources such as solar and wind. This work comparatively analyzes 10 inverter simulation architectures in centralized generation photovoltaic plants, from both technical and market perspectives, aiming to optimize production. Two real projects in Brazil were considered and simulated in PVsyst, one with a multistring inverter and the other with a central inverter, along with new configurations using different inverters to compare losses, efficiency, and generation. The results show variations in energy performance, with MWh/kW values ranging between 2.076 and 2.777. It was found that inverter performance is directly proportional to its overload factor, and topologies with similar factors present close results. The comparison between central and multistring architectures revealed no significant differences in overall performance, indicating that the overload factor is the most decisive parameter for achieving better energy performance. This study aims to assist entrepreneurs and technicians in selecting suitable inverters for photovoltaic projects in Brazil.
Keywords
Inverter Architectures, Energy Simulations, Solar Energy, Overload Factor, Centralized Gerenation