I need to simulate a power conversion system (using SIMetrix/SIMPLIS) in which solar energy is captured by a solar panel, which is then connected to an inverter for supplying current to the grid. Since I need to simulate this, I am struggling in finding a way to model the whole panel: it is clear to me that a single solar cell can be modeled through this circuit (keeping it as simple as possible)
simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab
for which hold
\begin{eqnarray} I_{out} = I_{PV} - I_D &=& I_{PV} - I_0\left(e^{\frac{V}{V_{th}}}-1\right)\\ I_{out}|_{V=0} = I_{SC} &=& I_{PV}\\ I_{out} = 0 &=& I_{PV} - I_0\left(e^{\frac{V_{OC}}{V_{th}}}-1\right) \end{eqnarray} where \$V_{th}\$ is the thermal voltage and the last two equations correspond to the short circuit and open circuit case, respectively, which for my case (the photovoltaic module is a BP MSX 110) are \$I_{SC}=3.6\:A\$ and \$V_{OC}=41.6\:V\$. If I try to model the whole panel using the aforementioned parameters I obviously am not able to compute \$I_0\$, since \$e^{41.6/0.026}\$ is a huge number; of course, if I just consider the fact that the module is made up of 72 cells connected in series I can model the single cell just fine (\$V_{OC} = 0.58\:V\$).
Then, my question is: is there a way (even different to the one I wrote about) to model one solar panel as a whole or have I got to actually connect 72 equivalent solar cells in series?