Simulating the Performance of Solar Panels in Iraq

The solar energy is the most available, non-polluting and free source of energy. Solar photovoltaic energy is the fastest growing energy resource and it will someday become the dominant source of energy. Iraq is located 290N-370N latitude so, it has a good possibility of solar energy, which could be invested to generate the electrical power by the photovoltaic modules.  The used databases in this study are hourly data of irradiance were obtained from Photovoltaic Geographical Information System (PVGIS) while air temperature and wind speed were obtained from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather (ECMWF) for the period 1/1/2001-31/12/2012.  Mathematical MATLAB program has been created to estimate the cell temperature and electrical power of a monocrystalline module for 200 sites in Iraqi areas. This study states the effects of environmental parameters on both the cell temperature and the electrical power of a monocrystalline PV module. Irradiance on tilt surface, ambient temperature, and wind speed are the key environmental factors in this study. By using Arc GIS, maps of electrical power and cell temperature distributions of a monocrystalline were drawn based on NOCT model.It has found that the effect of solar radiation on the output electrical power from the PV module is greater than the effect of ambient air temperature. Also, it has found that the monthly electrical power received from the module is varied throughout the months for the study area where the highest electrical power was recorded in June and the lowest electrical power recorded in December. Also, it varies in different sites, the southern part of Al- Qadisyah, western part of Dhi-Qar, northern part of Al-Muthannia and southwestern part of Al-Anbar provinces recorded the highest values of electrical power while the lowest value in the eastern part of Dihok.