Towards a Simulation Module for Application in Digital Twins of Photovoltaic Systems

Energija, ekonomija, ekologija, 2, XXVIII (2026) (10-17 str.)

 

AUTOR(I) / AUTHOR(S): Čedomir Zeljković , Predrag Mršić ,  Petar Matić , Bojan Erceg , Branko Blanuša , Mario Vražić , Luka Budin , Daniel Denkovski , Živko Kokolanski  

 

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.46793/EEE26-2.10Z

SAŽETAK / ABSTRACT:

The digitalization process facilitates the faster integration of renewable energy sources into power systems and enhances their planning and operation. Among contemporary digital technologies, digital twins stand out as virtual replicas of physical system assets, well suited for performance monitoring and optimization. This paper presents initial steps toward the development of a simulation module for digital twins of photovoltaic (PV) systems. The proposed module is implemented in Python and adopts a modular structure composed of astronomical, optical, thermal, and electrical submodels to estimate the AC power output of a PV system. A challenging simulation scenario is considered, in which the output power is calculated using a minimal set of input data, namely global horizontal irradiance, ambient temperature, and wind speed. The simulation results are validated using measurements from a real PV system, demonstrating satisfactory agreement despite limited data availability. The developed simulation module represents a key component of digital twin implementations for PV systems and can be applied to performance monitoring, fault detection, and optimization.

KLJUČNE REČI / KEYWORDS:

Digital twin, Photovoltaic system, Simulation module

PROJEKAT / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

This research was financially supported in part by the Advancing Renewable Energy in the Adriatic Ionian Region through the Use of Digital Twins (GoToTWIN) project, which is financed by the Interreg IPA ADRION Programme No. IPA-ADRION00406.

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