Comparison of production and simulation data of a rooftop solar power plant: A case study of Antalya province

Fossil fuels, especially coal, oil, and natural gas, have been meeting a large portion of global energy needs for many years. However, these resources are finite and are associated with emissions that cause environmental issues. Therefore, the need to transition to sustainable energy sources has become increasingly urgent. Today, many countries are investing in renewable energy to diversify their energy portfolios and reduce their carbon footprints. One such source is solar energy. Compared to other energy sources, solar power is cleaner and less costly. However, improvements in efficiency are still ongoing. This thesis aims to conduct a study to increase efficiency. In this study, the design of a grid-connected rooftop solar power plant in Antalya province was simulated using software, and the actual production values over one year were compared with the simulation results from the PV*SOL and PVsyst programs. When comparing the actual and simulation-based system performance ratios, the closest results to the actual values were obtained with a 4.95% error margin from the simulation using the Meteonorm database in the Pvsyst program.