More Than 4 Subarrays? (Pysam)

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Jeremiah Reagan
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16 Jan 2024 03:03 #12821 by Jeremiah Reagan

More Than 4 Subarrays? (Pysam) was created by Jeremiah Reagan

I was wondering if there was a way to use pysam to increase the maximum number of subarrays feeding into the same inverter. I need to model an arch of solar panels, which I was going to do by dividing up a bunch of segments at different tilts. Running each batch separate runs into the problem of inverter being over-sized very quickly and the power consumption of the MPPT killing any output. For the time being I've been trying to ignore the inverter by focusing on nominal DC output and circling back around to the AC problem later.

Is there any way in pysam to add more subarrays and/or disable the MPPT for said subarrays? Or alternatively have a subarray with multiple tilts for its various strings (kind of the same thing)? Or is that something deeply hard coded that I shouldn't waste too much time trying to pursue and just stick with the nominal DC output?

If the latter, is there a way to isolate whatever module handles the inverter behavior so I can feed my summed DC totals as an input and get AC output as a result?

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Paul Gilman

18 Jan 2024 17:45 #12823 by Paul Gilman

Replied by Paul Gilman on topic More Than 4 Subarrays? (Pysam)

Hi Jeremiah,

The pvsamv1 module limits the number of inverter MPPT inputs to 4, so it is not possible to change that limit either in the SAM user interface or PySAM.

One approach would be to approximate the arch shape as four sections.

The purpose of the multiple MPPT inputs is to allow each subarray to operate at its own voltage.

The Sandia Inverter model is available as a separate PySAM module: nrel-pysam.readthedocs.io/en/main/modules/Pvsandiainv.html.

For a description of the Sandia Inverter model, see King, D.L.; Gonzalez, S.; Galbraith, G.M.; and Boyson, W.E. (2007). Performance Model for Grid Connected Inverters. 47 pp.; Sandia Report No. 2007-5036. ( PDF 1.3 MB ). You can find other PV model references on the PV Publications page: sam.nrel.gov/photovoltaic/pv-publications.html.

Best regards,
Paul.

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