Analysis on solar PV emulators: A review

In recent years, continuous depletion of conventional energy resources and the fluctuating fuel cost have motivated research on alternative source for power generation. To effectively harvest power from the green energy resources, extensive research have been carried out in literature. Solar energy being the foremost among all other renewable energy resources has evolved as a reliable substitute for the conventional power generation. Unlike other sources, real time research on Photovoltaic (PV) Systems is a difficult assignment as it necessitates an accurate PV emulator that can precisely replicate the nonlinear characteristics of a PV cell. PV Researchers have developed emulators of different type utilizing various configurations. This paper attempts to present a comprehensive review on different PV emulator topologies so as to gather all the research activities that are scattered in this arena under a common umbrella. Further this paper provides a detailed analysis of each technique emphasizing on its (i) Realization cost (ii) Accuracy (iii) Level of complexity (iv) Sensitiveness to varying environmental conditions (v) Hardware implementation and (vi) Efficiency.