Modeling and Simulation Hub

Purdue University's PVHub provides online access to photovoltaic simulation tools. Among the tools at PVHub are the following:

  • ADEPT 2.1, a tool for modeling solar cells fabricated from a wide variety of materials.
  • PVLimits, a tool that is designed to calculate the thermodynamic performance limit of single-junction and multi-junction solar cells.
  • PV Analyzer, a tool for rapid data analysis and parameter extraction from solar cell measurements.
  • PVPanelSim, which provides two-dimensional SPICE simulation of thin-film solar panels, including shunt-induced variability and partial shadow effects.
  • TAG Solar Cell Model, a package that contains a physics-based compact model for a-Si solar cells, and a panel simulation netlist generator in Matlab that can generate HSPICE inputs for large-scale panel simulation.

Washington University in St. Louis and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory developed the following tool:

  • aMoBT, ab initio model for calculating Mobility and Seebeck coefficient in semiconductors using Boltzmann Transport (aMoBT) equation. aMoBT predicts ab initio the electrical mobility of current or newly designed photovoltaic materials and provides insight to carrier transport and its theoretical limits.

NREL, RAND, and CSTEP collaborated to develop a webinar to introduce the System Advisor Model (SAM) for the Indian context, "SAM for India":

  • This webinar introduces several new features in SAM 2017.1.17 developed for analysis of photovoltaic projects in India, including weather data for locations in India, income tax holidays, receivables reserve, and a new "return on equity" metric. It also introduces a new "SAM for India" getting-started wizard that will be released in the next version of SAM.

The Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) also has the following tool:

  • CSTEP's Solar Techno-Economic Model (CSTEM) is an open-access, computational tool that can facilitate analysis of grid-connected solar power plants. The technologies covered by the tool are concentrated solar power (CSP) and photovoltaics (PV). The tool can be used to estimate the performance of a solar power plant and the cost of electrical energy generation. This tool blends technology-centered engineering analysis with financial models. The technical model has been developed as per scientific and industrial literature. The financial model has been based on the norms specified by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission of India. However, there is a provision for user-specified or customized inputs in the models.

  • CSTEP's Renewable Energy Atlas for India (RE Atlas) is a web-based platform for visualization and first-cut analysis of national- and state-level potentials across various renewable-energy sectors in India.