Evaluation and Performance Assessment of Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Solar Power Plants in Arid Zone of Algeria

This study investigates the annual energy performance of a 3.27 kWp polycrystalline photovoltaic (PV) system installed in Noumerate, Ghardaia Province, Algeria. The system incorporates a solar tracking structure and an SMA Sunny Boy 4 kW inverter to convert DC power into AC power, which is then connected into the Renewable Energy Applied Research Unit (REARU) grid. The system generated 7.995 MWh of energy annually, while PVSYST simulations predict an annual energy injection of 7.042 MWh. The performance ratio (PR) fluctuated seasonally, reaching a minimum of 0.69 in September and a maximum of 0.77 in May. The annual PR, as calculated by PVSYST, is 74.4%.