Design and Simulate a 500 MW Grid-Connected PV Farm for Labrador

Abstract

This paper investigates the system sizing, schema, modeling, and simulation of a 500 MW, grid-connected PV farm at a site close to the Churchill Falls Airport in Labrador. The objective is to understand the PV farm’s technical and economic feasibility. The system is sized manually and with the help of PVWatts. The outputs from this calculation and PVWatts are used to select system components, such as solar panels and MPPT inverters. The plant is divided into four blocks of 125 MW each for ease of maintenance, control, and redundancy for planned and unplanned outages. Pooling transformers, high voltage switchgear, grid transformers, and the export transmission line are sized accordingly. System performance is analyzed using NREL’s System Advisor Model (SAM) software. The grid-connected PV system, with the inverter, is modeled in Simulink (MATLAB) for dynamic simulations. Protection and control scenarios are also modeled in Simulink. The system’s output parameters are then analyzed to understand power output and stability. Finally, recommendations on feasibility and further work are discussed.